It's Been a While
by BlackRockTaffy
Summary: They say that death is only the begining; and boy were they right. Starting with the resurrection of allies old and new, the now graduated 'Nerd Patrol' as Kaiba calls them will have more to worry about- continued inside. CanonAU. Pairings listed inside.
1. Hindsight

**A/N: **Oh hey! This is the first fanfiction I've ever posted! I'm actually pretty excited about this. I think Usagi-squared is too. Well, since she and I wrote this together. WOOO.

**Summary: **They say that death is only the begining of the next great adventure; and boy were they right. Starting with the resurrection of allies old and new, with enemies to match, the now graduated 'Nerd Patrol' as the CEO calls them will have more to worry about than just college and card games. CanonAU.

**Pairings: Thiefshipping, (Future)Puppyshipping, implied Deathshipping, (Future)Clashshipping**

**Spoiler Alert: **This fanfic is set after the Yu-Gi-Oh series, so if you haven't watched (atleast) to season 5, be prepared for spoilers.

**Disclaimers: **Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi, and any other items mentioned in this belong to their respective owners. The idea of this fanfic is Usagi-Squeared and MINE. Take that.

Reviews are always welcome, and so are comments Enjoy!

Graduation. The dictionary has three short definitions for this term, and all of them are nouns. One. An act of graduating; the state of being graduated. A definition that serves little use if you don't know the meaning of the root word, graduate. Two. The ceremony of conferring degrees or diplomas, as at a college or school. Another definition that serves little purpose, in that modern day allows many a person to succeed without such an object. And three. Arrangement in degrees, levels, or ranks.

None of these definitions can describe the feelings felt during the process of graduation. Nor the events that occur because or during it. To 'graduate' is to pass by degrees; to change gradually. But the event as a whole marks such a drastic change that this cannot possibly be true.

No... To graduate is to change but...

A change so important as graduation can only be drastic. For it marks an entrance, an acceptance, into a new world. A world that is both similar and dissimilar to the one that any involved in this ceremony of graduation are leaving. A change that could be good... Or bad.

'It's Been A While'

From: Ryou Bakura . changeofheartryou yahoo .co .jp

To: Yugi Mutou darkmagicattack yahoo .co .jp

Yugi-kun? It's me, Ryou.

I know we haven't spoken much since Yami- Atem I guess now- left... How are you? Ever since I transferred out, I've been all right I suppose...

Malik sent me an e-mail the other day. He's invited me to Egypt for the summer, but he sent two tickets. I asked him about it, but he can't return them apparently, so he told me to bring a friend...

Would you like to come? I understand if you don't, it must be a hard subject and...

In any case, if you can, please let me know before Saturday.

- Bakura Ryou

'RE: It's Been A While'

From: Yugi Mutou darkmagicattack yahoo .co .jp

To: Ryou Bakura changeofheartryou yahoo .co .jp

Ryou? Wow! I didn't think I'd hear from you!

It has been a while hasn't it? I'm all right myself... Though we graduate soon, the others are thinking of trying an exchange after the summer is over. I don't think I will; Grandpa isn't as strong as he used to be, and I'm worried about leaving him alone. I know my mom is there, but leaving him for six months seems a little too much.

The summer doesn't sound too bad though. My mom is a teacher, so she'll be at home at all times until September... I'm sorry I couldn't respond earlier! It's not too late is it? Because if I can, I'd love to come. I haven't been keeping much contact with Malik myself... How is he?

- Mutou Yugi

'RE: It's Been A While'

From: Ryou Bakura changeofheartryou yahoo .co .jp

To: Yugi Mutou darkmagicattack yahoo .co .jp

Calm down, Yugi-kun!

It's not too late; though you barely made it. If you can, pack for the summer and meet me at the Tokyo airport for 7 this Saturday. The plane doesn't leave until noon of course, but you know how crowds are...

Are you sure it will be all right for... Never mind. In any case, I'll see you at the airport then.

Ja matta ne, Yugi-kun.

- Bakura Ryou

Travelling by plane to any country outside of Japan was something like traveling through time, Ryou thought to himself as they landed in Egypt. If you went one way, it was as though time never changed. Or, stranger yet, that you'd in fact gone backwards, loosing hours and hours of time thanks to the sheer speed of travel. And yet it was also possible to skip over these hours as if they were nothing, travelling ahead of time rather than against it.

It was odd; but he chose not to bring up the oddly confusing and philosophical comments when they left the airport, instead smiling calmly as Malik greeted them both. "Hey! You both made it!" He put down the sign that said, in messy kanji, 'Ryou and Yugi'. It was a little unnerving to be referred to by first name really, but Yugi didn't seem to mind, and Malik's first culture went by those standards really. He might have learned Japanese, but his customs were still a mix of arabic and ancient Egyptian. Mostly arabic these days though; the modern world had little or no use for the 'old ways' outside of history lectures and archaeological digs.

As Ryou bowed his head lightly and whispered a 'Hello, Malik-kun', Yugi grinned and pulled his bag towards where the tanned blond was standing. "Malik! It's been a while!"

There was a flash of something in Malik's eyes when he looked them over and came to help with the luggage. A spark really, a mere fragment of some sort of negative emotion. Guilt, or perhaps mere sadness, he thought. But he couldn't be sure, so as they took the taxi back to Malik's large-but-not-a-mansion home outside of Cairo, he kept silent and let the other two speak amongst themselves.

So many questions... 'How are you?' 'I'm doing great, what about you, and your sister?' 'Pretty good ourselves, we recently sold..' He knew it was rude, but the plane trip left him tired... So he ended up tuning out half of what they were saying until Yugi nudged him in the side. "Ryou! We're here."

"Ah- S-So sorry, I..." The albino shook his head, before bowing his head in embarrassment. "I must have fallen asleep..."

As they stepped out of the car, Malik laughed. "Ahaha, I know how you feel- jet lag really sucks huh?" He continued to grin, taking a few of their bags and nodding towards the door to the house. "Come on- there's a lot I want to show you guys, and you need your rest."

Yugi muttered something about not being tired, and beside him, Ryou rubbed the back of his neck. Of course he wasn't tired, he'd slept on the plane...

Malik, however, would have none of it it seemed and continued bringing things inside. "Yea yea, that's what I thought too, and then I ended up collapsing in the hall at the hotel I was at in Domino. Trust me, you're tired." The teen held the door open, letting the others in. "I'll show you where you're staying- normally other members of the Antiquities council use this place but..." He shrugged, shutting the door as the other two came in and listened. "Well, they've been all over the place recently, so it's become more of a house for me and the others; and they aren't even here right now, so it's lonely!"

"Lonely... Where are they all Malik?"

He looked down, blinking. "Er... Well, Rishid is just meeting up with someone from his work... But my sister took off for a research assignment in Greece."

The other two blinked, Ryou voicing their question on the matter. "Greece? I thought she preferred Egypt..."

There was another shrug, and Malik led them up the stairs and down the hall to a pair of bedrooms. "Don't ask me why she took it. I think it has something to do with the alliance Egypt and Greece had all those years ago though, we'll find out when she comes back." He grinned, leaving the bags by the room and heading back down the hall. "I'll wake you up in the morning guys- just get some sleep, so that you don't fall off my bike tomorrow!"

"Malik has a bike?" Yugi turned to Ryou curiously, and the teen shrugged slightly.

"He did have a bit of an attachment to them, so it's not too surprising..." He grabbed his bags, giving Yugi a soft smile. "I'll see you in the morning, neh Yugi-kun?"

He waved his hand. "Just 'Yugi' is fine you know. You don't need to be polite all the time." He knew it wouldn't do anything, but he mind as well try. "Any ways, see you then Ryou!" They both disappeared into their rooms. Oddly enough, Yugi did in fact succumb to the horrors of jet lag a few minutes later, falling asleep without even changing out of his clothes on the bed.

Ryou however, couldn't sleep. There were too many things bugging him. He didn't know why, but they were. Malik's email... He'd lied about that. He didn't want to, but Malik seemed desperate enough. 'I want you to bring a friend ok? I'm sending you two tickets. Don't tell them I did it on purpose!' But why would he have to do that..? That look he'd had in his eyes when he spotted Yugi seemed almost... Horrified. As though by bringing Yugi, everything had changed.

But what was everything?

He sighed as he got changed into his pyjamas, laying down on the bed and staring at the ceiling. He'd been feeling so confused... After the events of Battle City, he hadn't seen Malik in person too often. Seeing him again didn't help his confusion though. He had never met 'Yami Marik', or 'Marik' as the others had taken to calling him. Not directly, at least. Sure, he had heard about him, but by the time Marik and his own 'Yami', that 'other him' that he scarcely knew... Well, he found himself, to his immense confusion, stuck with both Malik and 'Yami Bakura' in the shadow realm.

Another sigh. He couldn't bring himself to hate this strange 'other Malik' that was now gone. He should have. But he never could really hate anyone. There was... Always another side to things wasn't there? And yet Marik was merely another half of Malik. A personality, nothing more, created from an intense and traumatizing event in the past.

Yes, he thought as he rolled over. Marik wasn't, and never was real...

But why was it that a part of his heart ached for that side of Malik when he saw him now?

Change. To become something, or someone else by any kind of means. The events that transpired that day, Ryou thought as he stood flat against the wall, were nothing like he had ever expected from Malik. And yet he could understand why. To some extent. Nonetheless, he should have caught it.

It had been a beautiful day.

Warm and sunny, and while Malik had jokingly told them they'd be sick of it in a week, he didn't think that he would. The summer heat was pressing down on all of them as they walked to a small corner store and gas station. Ryou had marvelled over Yugi's perseverance- while he was walking in thin shorts and a t-shirt, the short, triple hair coloured teen was still walking around in the leather he'd become fond of with the completion of a now lost puzzle. And he was still walking and skipping ahead with a grin.

"How does he do that..?" Malik laughed as his friend voiced that question, his hands in his pockets as all three walked along the side of the dusty, cracked road.

"Who knows; maybe having a pharaoh living in him for four years allowed him to acclimatize!"

He sighed, shaking his head. "And me..?"

The blond smirked. "You're just pasty, Ryou. I don't think anyone with that skin tone can stay outside long without burning into a crisp!" While they continued talking about things like that, Yugi drifted further and further ahead; before long, you could see the tiny figure that was the current 'King of Games' waving his arms from the gas station.

Which was probably for the best, considering what their conversation turned to.

Bakura... His last name, and also the name of his now, apparently dead other half. Like the pharaoh 'Atem' who had lived in Yugi's puzzle, the spirit of the Millennium Ring was also gone now... As lost and unseen as the items themselves were now. It had been... Unnerving, the conversation. What was Bakura like? If you could bring him back, would you? Hey, do you think if that happened, then time would repeat? The conversation had thankfully been cut short when he'd mentioned that Yugi would soon be able to hear them. So, nodding, Malik had gone into the store to get slushies, soon coming out with an extra large for each of them.

He'd thought that was where the conversation would end. Just as a curiosity, nothing more. They walked out into the desert, sipping their drinks and each feeling something completely different. Yugi was oblivious, cheerful, as if he'd been missing something and regained it just now. He wouldn't be surprised if it was true to say the least... But then, everyone had different ways to recover from a loss.

Malik seemed equally happy, but in a strange, almost hidden sense. Like he was hiding, plotting something. And it unnerved him, more so when the blond stated that he was going to show them an old temple ruin he'd found. "A temple," Yugi had asked curiously as he slurped the slushy. "Does it have anything to do with... Him?" The answer had been no, of course not.

But he wasn't sure... Not about what he had to do with, but what they were walking into. It didn't feel like a temple. It didn't even feel like much more than a smoothed out cave, the stairs and hall reaching down, down, down into a cool room lit with torches. The room was blank. Mostly. Symbols and hieroglyphs lined the walls and floor, a large circle in the center with oddly well positioned torches and candles...

He'd bit his lip, and everything happened so fast. Yugi had run forwards with a smile, looking around curiously as he commented on the lights that Malik had added. 'It's like a hideout', he'd said, 'we could play all kinds of games in here and-'

Ryou stood frozen, unable to hear himself shout a warning as Malik grabbed one of the torch stands and swung it forwards. He'd reached out but his feet had remained glued to the floor in fear as Yugi turned and dropped the slushy. Half frozen, sugary ice mush splattered all over the floor, dotted with just a small bit of blood. Followed by Yugi's unconscious and prone form as Malik replaced the torch stand he'd used to knock him out. "Malik... Malik what did you..." He shook, frightened and scared, more scared than anything. What was he doing... What did this room mean, what did the conversation, the e-mail... Was this why? Was this why he had to bring a friend? Was all of this... The trip, the walk... The slushies... Was all of it just a ploy to end up here, in this room?

"Shut up, and listen! Or you'll be next!" He was so scared... If it had been the past, his 'other him' would have come out, argued against the threat. Ah... But then, his other him would have likely helped Malik with whatever it was with a wide and maniacal grin too, wouldn't he? "You're going to do nothing. You're going to stand at the side, over there, and keep an eye out in case someone comes. I can't have anyone interrupt Ryou... No one, understand!" What was going on... He sounded crazed, desperate, as though about to explode into a mess on the spot. He couldn't say anything. He couldn't do anything. He merely nodded stiffly, weakly, and stood by the doorway cowering with fear as he watched. Watched Malik drag Yugi's body into the center of the circle, drops of the cherry slushy clinging to his shoes and melting away in a pathetic imitation of blood.

He stood there. Watched, with horror as Malik left the circle to stand on the side and take a seat in a kneeling position... Listened, as ancient and rasping words escaped his mouth in a foreign language he could never possibly hope to understand, filling the room. Sank to his knees with wide and quivering eyes as the room glowed in response. Glowed, hummed... And as the torches blinked out all at once, a light appeared from the center of the circle... And exploded into a vicious, blinding pillar.

Ryou covered his ears, ducking down as a shock wave of hard, visible sound blasted over his head. Vicious, undying screams could be heard, be it from Malik, Yugi, or from some strange other source he could not tell. And still he watched, unable to tear his eyes from the sight as Malik held his arms in the air. He watched as the blond continued his chant, unmoving and unaffected even as the pillar of light swirled in a cyclone around the room. It covered everything in it's blinding rays, the solid and yet gaseous clouds of light that he saw. The entire ceiling was covered, clouds of it falling to the ground, and still the worst had not come. For as his eyes widened still more, a task he thought impossible, a solid stream of the light separated from the funnel. It separated and spiralled around the room to counter the twister of light that was there, as though fighting against it, or even being pulled away. The screams intensified, and the cyclone itself began to narrow, twist itself into a thin stream as the larger thread continued it's maddening dance around the room.

And then, as the cyclone narrowed to little more than a hair-thin thread, the snake-like ribbon of light crashed into it. An explosion occurred... And for a brief moment as he covered his eyes, he thought he'd heard a voice from months and months prior to that day.

But he didn't know what that voice had said, as he opened his eyes to stare at what the light had brought into the room.

Ryou didn't know Egyptian after all.


	2. Tears

There were few words to describe the room he'd appeared in, but the first one, he decided, was cramped. He might not have been a very big spirit width wise, as that would cause problems,(And he wasn't fat!) he was still very tall. Of course, he cheated a little for his height. After all, the enormous bird-like figure thought to himself as he looked down curiously, bird's legs began halfway down the shins. Which made his 'real' legs so to speak about twice the length of his bird ones. So his height of 5, 6 feet had very quickly increased to about 12.

Ryou looked up at the enormous being before him, turning to look at Malik for a brief moment before running over to him and pulling him out of the way as the creature looked down. It seemed... Familiar almost. The feathers were varied in their colours, though mostly a shade of blue. But the 'bird', as it seemed, did not have a beak as it should. In fact, its entire head was... Human. With a face that bled an ancient and regal tone that both tensed and calmed the hearts of others. It was tanned, almost darker than Malik's if that was possible. Kohl lined his violet eyes, causing them to stand out dramatically. Tear lines as well came down from his eyes, giving the illusion of perpetual sadness. But what stood out the most to him was the hair.

It was long, at least a foot past the 'bird's shoulders. But it was also three colours. And before Ryou could even question this aloud, Malik's hoarse, worn voice was heard with evident agitation. "You... You're not Bakura..." Baku- His Yami? Malik had been trying to bring back his darker self? But how... Why...

As Ryou turned to look up at the 'bird', its face frowned, a childish expression that far betrayed the otherwise regal and almost miserable appearance given by his markings and build. "Bakura? What on earth are you talking about," he said in clear Japanese. The albino jumped slightly, though Malik seemed relatively unaffected as the bird straightened himself out and returned to his full height. He shook his wings slightly, tail swishing as the multitude of feathers cloaked the room. "The last thing I remember is flying in the skies of the Fields of Aaru... I don't even have a clue why you'd think that the King of Thieves would reside in such a place."

Malik merely glared weakly, and just now Ryou noticed how truly weak he seemed. Paler than normal, and shaking like a leaf now that the ritual was over, he slumped against his friend before attempting to respond to the bird. "You... Who are you..?"

The bird smiled, another expression that seemed, to Ryou at least, fairly out of place. "You can't recognize me Malik? I suppose I do look rather different.." He looked himself over in a fit of seeming paranoia before a pair of arms suddenly appeared from beneath the large clump of feathers on his chest. He held them out as though shrugging, before putting his hands on his hips. "I guess it's to be expected. No one ever saw my Ka after all, and I did just spend three thousand years of the afterlife in it."

Impossible... This was... Malik coughed, attempting to sit up as Ryou turned again and attempted to calm the blond down. "Who are-"

"Atem, former pharaoh of Egypt" He chuckled, before looking down at the rather shocked pair. "Though I must ask, how is it that you've managed to pull me out of the fields, I thought the only way to do that was- ...Oh dear."  
Him? Atem... The pharaoh? The spirit of Yugi's millennium puzzle was... A... A bird..? He stumbled slightly as Malik collapsed in his arms, taking a shuddering breath before passing out. "What..." He turned back to Atem, swallowing. Wait. Atem was Yugi's other half... If he realized... There was no way Yugi had survived that after all.

But he couldn't lie. Not about this. Never about this. "I..." He bit his lip, turning away slightly as Atem took a few steps forward to look at Malik.

"Is he all right? I don't know much, but the only ritual I know of that can bring the dead to life is fairly suicidal at best... As it is, you need-" He froze, turning as his tail feathers brushed against something. "...A sacrifice."

"I'm so sorry..." Ryou's voice was barely a whisper as he shook, gripping Malik's arm as tears began to form in his eyes. "I'm so so sorry... I should have... I should have done something, but I couldn't move... I couldn't..." No excuse, a nasty part of his mind began to guilt him with. You have no excuse, leaving him to die...

Atem stood frozen as he knelt down by the cold, prone corpse of his partner, his other half. Clawed, bird-like hands picked up the boy as he cradled him in his arms, as though unwilling to accept what had happened. And then, looking over at Malik with a sad and distant expression, he understood. "...He wanted Bakura... But because Bakura never died, the spell latched to the closest thing..." He took steps towards Ryou, the teen flinching as he drew back in fear. "...An equal exchange of souls, with an added payment..." He laid the body down in front of Ryou, who slowly opened his eyes to look up at Atem with a mix of fear, shock, and relief. The expression cracked a small, sad smile on the bird's face. "What- did you think I would punish you for this?" He gave a harsh, choked bird-like sound before kneeling down to look at Ryou sadly. "No... I'm past the days of 'Eye for an Eye' justice, particularly when I can see both sides."

"What.. What do you mean," he choked out. He.. He should have done something, anything to help, and he'd stood there, clinging to the wall in cowardice-! "What do you mean by seeing both sides?" No excuse, no excuse...

He stood up again, turning away briefly before looking back down. "Malik and Bakura... They worked together often, did they not? They were close... Regardless of the parasitic fragment of Zorc that inhabited the Thief's own being, they worked well with one another." His eyes drifted to Malik, and he closed them briefly before continuing. "After the events of my passing, it's not surprising he would want him back. He merely went about it in the wrong way, one of the many ways that would make it impossible."

Ryou frowned, hesitating as he asked the bird his question. "One of.. Many? And why wouldn't this have worked? Does that mean... Does that mean that Yugi died for..." He cut off, tears still running down his face as he choked. Dead. Dead dead dead dead dead Yugi was dead, and he had led him to that grave even with raised suspicions.

"Bakura never died." What? What did he mean he never died, Zorc had been killed hadn't he? That was what Yugi and everyone had told him when he woke up, that both his darker self and some demonic being named 'Zorc Necrophades' had died as a result of the shadow game. "You can never truly kill someone in a game as tied to shadows as it is. There can be fatalities, yes, but only circumstantial. Never by direct, game related attacks so to speak. While Zorc himself is mostly gone, both his fragment of a soul and the Thief King's own are still stuck there, in the endless realm of shadows... Events in the game were only occurring appearance wise. Necrophades, as the creator of those games, would never truly put himself in a position where he could lose, not when he knows of the inescapable consequences... Or so I was told after my passing." He trailed off, continuing to look down with his almost melancholic stare. "...Yes, Malik killed Yugi. And yes, you watched as it happened. But I will not condemn either of you to the same fate, when I can understand the reasoning behind his death, and know that the victim in this situation would never want his soul avenged in that way. I will do something of course... But nothing so terrible as death or torture." He stepped back, almost against the wall of the room as Ryou merely stared confused. "For that reason, Ryou... I leave my fate in your hands."

His eyes widened, and he stared at the bird with frozen shock. "W-What... No... No, I can't! How can I make that kind of decision after all I've done... After all I haven't done..!"

A sad smile was his response. "You can... And you must. It is your choice. Seal me in a stone tablet or card, my form being as tied to the shadows as any duel monster is... Or send my soul into Yugi's body as the ritual intended. It is your choice, and yours alone."

There was a silence for a moment, Ryou shaking his head as though denying everything. "No... I can't... I... I can't..." How did it even work? Sealing him into.. Anything really... What was he supposed to choose? What would Malik choose, his other self choose, Yugi choose... All of them different choices, but which one was right... "How would you do it... Enter Yugi-kun's body?"

The silence continued, and Atem continued to smile sadly before reaching out with a taloned foot to touch the side of the corpse's face. "That, Ryou... Is the easy part. ...But for now, let's get the two of you home."

That sounded really nice... He never got to tell him that however, as in the light that ensued from Atem entering Yugi's body, he found himself loosing consciousness due to all the stress he'd endured... So tired...

* * *

"Hn!" Ryou's eyes flung open as he sat up in the bed with a jolt, breathing heavily. It felt as though he'd run a marathon, carrying a camel the entire way; where ever the image of that came from. "Hah... Hah... Hah..." He looked around the room he was in, frowning as he hesitantly stepped out of the bed. "What.." Where... The last he remembered, he'd been in that room, that strange and horrific room beneath the desert with Malik and Yu- He cut his thoughts, biting the inside of his cheek. No... Yugi was... Gone now, wasn't he. In his place, the soul of an ancient pharaoh had come back. Rather, former pharaoh now. The teen numbly changed into some clothes, heading downstairs to make some breakfast. He didn't feel much like doing anything really... But he knew that simply not eating or sleeping properly would be an insult to his friend's memory. What would he say, if he knew that his friends simply wasted away after his death? He would say,

"Hey! Just because I'm dead doesn't mean you have to die too! Besides, I'll always be there!"

He gave a sad, weak smile as he brushed the side of the frying pan he held with that thought. "I'm so sorry, Yugi-kun.. So sorry..."

"...Ryou?" He turned, blinking at the shock of who had entered the room. "...I would ask if you were alright, but something tells me the question would be more than redundant, wouldn't it," he said quietly. The teen who had entered sat at the table, tanned skin made to appear darker with the white room contrasting him. He seemed visibly uncomfortable, to Ryou's surprise. Hadn't the pharaoh, former pharaoh he reminded himself, been the one to influence Yugi's style with so much leather? And yet as Atem sat down, his presence in the body having somehow caused it to change in both height and appearance, a visible wince came as he attempted to adjust the leather pants he was wearing.

The teen stared a moment, before shaking it off. "...Yea... I... I suppose it would be a tad redundant..." He turned back to the counter, grabbing the eggs he'd laid out and setting the pan down to cook them. The man was a distraction he was... His head looked identical to when he had been a 'bird', and the rest of his skin had changed to match. Not to mention, Ryou was fairly certain that Atem could possibly rival Kaiba in height if he was lucky...

As the room fell into silence, the smell of eggs filled the room. Atem seemed to visibly melt with the aroma, to Ryou's slight amusement. Dishing up the eggs onto three plates in case Malik woke up, he passed one to Atem and took a seat himself. "...Do you like eggs at all Atem-san..?" He didn't feel right calling royalty, however dead, with the 'kun' honorific. "If you don't want them, I could make something else for you- Ah?" He blinked as the teen in front of him turned, a fork full of eggs already in his mouth. Atem's expression was fairly comical really, not unlike a child who had just been caught stuffing Halloween candy in his mouth after bedtime.

He pulled the fork out, swallowing. "It's fine; I haven't had eggs for quite some time actually... In the fields, the dead are grouped by a common species; as my Ka, or 'soul' was mostly that of a bird, I stayed with others bearing similar appearance... Most of which would have found this quite cannibalistic, aha..." He trailed off with nervous laughter, Ryou blinking a few times as he wrapped his head around what he'd just heard.

His thoughts were voiced when Malik walked in however, holding his head with a pained expression on his face. "Hngg... Who got the plates from the truck that hit m-" The blond seemed to come back to earth at the sight of Atem, freezing momentarily with a look of shock on his face. He managed to get over this when he spotted the eggs. "I thought you were a giant chicken."

Atem visibly tensed, frowning. "I'm not a chicken, the correct term is, ironically enough, 'Ba'. There's a very, very big difference." He took another forkful of eggs, swallowing as he added, "Also, I'm fairly certain the Ba came from a falcon, and not any form of seed eating fowl."

Ryou covered his mouth, holding back the fit of giggles that was threatening to escape him with that fairly quick defence. Eventually, as Malik grabbed his plate with a smirk ('Yea. Ok, chicken', he said as he sat down), he finally turned to Atem again. "You're... Not quite what I remember from 'Yami Yugi'."

While Atem looked over at Ryou curiously, an expression all to reminiscent of Yugi to the teen's grim notice, Malik nodded in numb agreement. He was apparently expecting something, anything to happen to him as a punishment for what happened. But as Atem shrugged and went back to his eggs, the other two looked at each other and nervously went back to eating. Ryou knew, from what Atem had said the night before, that nothing would happen. And considering that he'd had all the time in the world to be rid of them both while carrying them back to the house (However he'd managed that), it wasn't likely that anything he planned was that bad... But fear and paranoia was still quite evident in Malik's eyes, however much he tried to hide it.

The albino decided to break the silence, taking a glance at Atem before turning to Malik. "Ah... Malik... About Bakura," he said, mentally wincing as he used his own surname to refer to another being.

Malik didn't answer, picking at his food at yet another reminder of his failure.

"Atem... Atem-san said that-"

The blond gritted his teeth, before interrupting Ryou and pulling Atem's attention away from his eggs with a shout. "I know! Of course the 'King of Thieves' wouldn't have been allowed into the Fields! But I had to try... I had to! I didn't mean for the sacrifice to be Yugi... I never said to bring him, just to bring a friend, but I couldn't just ask anyone!" He gripped the table, looking directly at Atem. "But I can always try- Mn!"

Ryou jumped as Malik was smacked off the chair with a rather audible thump, followed by a groan. More shocking was the fairly large wing that had shot out to do so, and was now being pulled back as its owner returned to eating eggs. Malik groaned, pulling himself back on the chair as he and Ryou slowly turned to look at Atem incredulously. Before they could say anything, Atem swallowed his latest fork-full and gave Malik a rather serious stare. "Stop that. Stop that now- first off, as I told Ryou, Bakura never died Malik. He's sealed, in the Shadow realm. And as for my own feelings on what you did that brought me back to this world..." He gave a sad smile, before crossing his arms and shaking his head. "What you went through for that ritual is more than enough I think."

They both looked at him, blinking before the former pharaoh continued. "You're lucky to be alive- and personally, that combined with your current grief is more than enough punishment any day."

Awkward silence settled on the table, and Ryou closed his mouth while Malik blinked a few times. Eventually, it was the latter who spoke. "Ryou was right... You're really different..." He blinked a few times more, before smirking. "...Chicken."

"I am NOT. A chicken!" Ryou rubbed his head as Malik continued smirking, before turning to the blond with a frown.

"...How are you feeling Malik... You don't look well..." Evidently, when Atem had said 'lucky to be alive', he really meant it. The teen still looked sickly pale compared to his usual bronzed complexion, and he'd barely eaten his breakfast. "...Maybe you should go back to bed..."

He shook his head, frowning. "No- ..Atem!" He turned to look at the taller of the three, who looked up from his food with partial confusion.

"Ah- yes?"

Malik's expression became more serious, and he leaned forwards slightly. "You said Bakura wasn't dead... So you know where he is then?"

There was a short nod, and as he went back to eating his food(taking Malik's mostly untouched eggs as well) he answered. "That's right; he's in the shadow realm but-"

There was a slamming noise and a screech as Malik pushed his chair back and stood, causing both Atem and Ryou to look up with slight surprise. "Tell me how to get him out!"

"Er... It's quite simple now that I know how actually..."

"Then tell me, so I can get him out!"

Abruptly, Atem's seemingly taken aback and nervous demeanour switched, eyes narrowing to a more serious expression. "...No."

"What..!"

Ryou blinked, turning to Atem. "What do you mean no? If you told Malik all of this, how could you say that..."

Atem shook his head, before pulling his legs up into a cross-legged position. "I didn't mean 'no, we won't get him'. I meant 'no, we won't get him now'. Look at yourself Malik- I already told you that you're lucky to even be alive right now. To go into the shadow realm in your condition would simply kill you outright." As the Ryou turned to a now growing paler Malik, Atem continued. "Go sleep Malik; when you've recovered, we can go over Bakura's rescue."

As Malik drew back from the table with a fairly torn expression, Ryou stood up to gather the now empty dishes from the table. "You should... You should listen, Malik," he said as he smiled sadly. "all right?"

He didn't say anything, biting his lip as he gave Atem an odd look and turned to leave the room. Maybe they were right... He needed to lie down, think this over... He'd already killed someone hadn't he? He'd killed... Killed a friend of his, someone that while he didn't know well, he knew nonetheless. One of the last few people he knew that had actually trusted him after his other half had... Malik clenched his fists as he entered his room, shutting the door behind him before sitting on the bed, eyes wide as it finally hit him.

"...Yugi..." How... How could he have been so blind..! He'd taken the assumption of those who knew next to nothing about the realm of shadows, assumed that Bakura, the one who had joined with him when he fought against the pharaoh, was dead... Poured his heart and soul into researching those grave and elusive hieroglyphics from the book he'd found... Not even a book really, so much as a tome created to hold records of all the aged and fading papyrus scrolls... He'd assumed and for what?

The pharaoh was here, when his duty had been to make sure he made it to the afterlife safe and sound, a duty that he had effectively reversed. The boy and friend that had been host to that same pharaoh, effectively making him just as important himself, had been killed to do the deed. And all that time, it wouldn't have mattered if it worked or failed because Bakura wasn't dead to begin with. Just rotting away, a soul trapped in the vast and endless expanse of shadows.

Malik held his head in his hands, and for the first time in years, let the tears he had fall freely and silently through his fingers and to the floor.


	3. Mind Tricks

**A/N: **Bujeezus Safari hates me. Okay, so here's what happened. So I logged onto my account on the computer and I was planning on updating with chapter two. I had the file all saved in OpenOffice so I opened Safari and BOOM. An error message. So I shut down the computer and turned it back on, and I tried Safari again. No luck. RAAAGE. I had to go on my brother's computer account to upload chapter 2 OTL. Though I FIXED IT TODAY! YAY! So here's chapter three! BWUAHAHA. Me and my sick Haxorz skillz. Oh and I have another little note.

Sorry if Atem is OOC. ;;A;; Forgive us! -bows- we tried our best! Like... He was waaay more OOC before Usagi-squared re-wrote it (*showers her with LOOOVE*) so. Thank her and her amazingness. She also made everyone else in character...and she does an AMAZING KAIBA 333 Like...Seriously.

**Disclaimers: **We do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

R&R! P.S. Thanks for the fav's/watches/reviews!

* * *

In the week that followed after Yugi's demise, a cover story was fabricated fairly swiftly to hide their tracks. Ryou had, at first, been more than surprised when Atem brought the subject up of course. More so when he insisted that news of Yugi's death be delayed rather than brought forward- but when it came down to it, the logic was sound. The fact was, without a corpse, nothing could be proven. To call in Yugi's death officially would more than likely get them locked up for the night in a hospital... A jail cell at the worst.

So, Atem took to hiding around the house during the few moments that Rishid came back, coming out to help Ryou look after Malik; who had, as the albino told the former Rare Hunter, managed to catch a cold from him when he arrived. Malik had thankfully neglected to mention to Rishid that he'd invited two people over... Though Atem and Ryou decided to ignore the exact reasoning behind that.

Regardless of how quiet it was for some through the week however, the following Saturday found Atem and Ryou sitting with Malik at the kitchen table again, the latter looking much better as he asked for seconds of eggs- only to glare at Atem in a silent, if not one-sided challenge as the taller one also requested more eggs.

"Guys... I don't think we should be eating that much..." Ryou scratched his forehead, looking at the pair in disbelief as they plowed through dish after dish of food. "If Rishid notices just how quick the food is disappearing..."

"Psh, he's not going to care." The albino looked at Malik with a frown, crossing his arms as said blond turned with a smirk. "Please- I can easily convince him that nothing's wrong... And if he does figure out that Atem's here, then we'll just have to pretend he's someone else." He turned to look across the table at the former pharaoh, who was currently looking back at Malik half-way through eating another bite of eggs. "It's not like the chicken could do without a lesson in humility."

The normally passive gaze changed, as it tended to happen when his Ka form was involved, to a fairly annoyed frown. "I told you, I am NOT A CHICKEN." The paper he was holding rustled slightly as his fists clenched, and he proceeded to turn back to the page he'd been looking at.

"Whatever, chicken."

"RRRRRRRRG-"

"In any case," Malik said as he continued to smirk, "Can you even read Arabic? Because I know that English is a lost cause for you."

Atem blinked, but took the change in subject gladly. "...No... But from what I can tell, this man," he said as he pointed at the front page image, "Is not at all pleased."

The blond looked over the table at the paper, skimming the article before laughing. "Hah! 'That man' as you call him just got arrested for falsely accusing two kids of theft. Moron..."

"Ah." It was fairly obvious that he didn't completely get it, but he put the paper aside and smiled none the less. "I'm assuming you're feeling better then?"

"Better than ever, chicken," Malik said with a grin. Atem in the meantime looked as though he was about to flip the table over as the one across from him laughed loudly.

Ryou threw his hands between the two, crossing them in an 'x' with a shout. "Hey! That's enough! ...Atem-san, now that Malik's healthy, why don't we go over the plan?"

"Plan?" Malik blinked, leaning back on his chair with a raised eyebrow. "You planned this without me?"

The teen across from him shrugged, smiling. "I assumed you would want this done as quickly as possible... I didn't think you would mind."

"...Hn..." He blinked again, before shrugging as well as he looked to Atem with a stubborn grin. "If it gets things done faster... Right, on with the plan!"

Atem's smile grew, and he sat up from the partial slouch he'd been in on the seat. "all right Normally, entering the shadow realm only happens during shadow games; where one or the other involved pull the realm to them, creating a pocket of space for themselves. Depending on the result, the looser will find themselves trapped in that pocket of the realm, unable to be freed by outside hands. However," he added as Malik's frown grew with the last part, "In the case of people who die within the realm, as a result that isn't directly tied to the games, their soul simply wanders the realm itself, a vast wasteland inhabited by the Ka beasts that make up the duel monsters we know today; fragmented souls which, in the time of death, took permanent residence in that realm."

He leaned forwards, smile vanishing. "This is the plan; Thief King Bakura as he is called was originally sealed, completely, into the Millennium Ring. At his time, it was already host to a fragment of Zorc Necrophades, something that had been placed without my notice in the final battle that resulted in my own sealing as well. Because of Zorc's ties with the Shadow Realm, he was essentially able to create an escape route through our Shadow Game, 'The Millennium World' as it was called."

The others frowned, and Malik interrupted. "If the game had no effect on things, then why did he bother creating it? If Zorc was just as trapped as Bakura was, then why bother?"

"...Most likely for vengeance, as well as to be rid of any possible loose threads." Atem looked up for a brief moment in thought, before giving the other two a semi-innocent look of knowledge. "If you think about it, even in my time as Pharaoh, I was known as a 'King of Games'. So what better way to be rid of me than a game mirroring the past that I had forgotten? Had I remembered everything, I would have been a threat to his existence in the ring; after all, I killed most of him already, it wouldn't be hard to be rid of the rest of him. However, because I didn't..." He trailed off, waving his hand. "You understand. Needless to say, while Bakura is in there, so is Zorc. We need to be prepared for the worst case scenario."

Ryou swallowed, taking a seat with the other two nervously. "And... What is that scenario Atem-san..?"

He sighed, looking down at the table with a frown. "Re-possession. As it was, Zorc never had full control over Bakura's soul. He was too stubborn, and Zorc's own fragment was too weak. So while he was able to manipulate a few things, he could never completely affect him. But in the Shadow Realm..." His eyes gained a dark look to them, and he looked up to meet Malik's own wide ones. "...Zorc holds most of his power there. This is different from a Shadow Game, where he pulled the shadows out to do his bidding. At that time, he was still rooted in the physical world, and therefore had no extra power. The same goes for when he was sealed with Bakura's soul as 'Yami Bakura'; since his body was still based in this realm, he couldn't reclaim any lost powers. But now..."

"Now he's simply escaped into the Shadow realm..." Malik's eyes grew wide with realization as he realized what Atem was getting at. "...And if he gains his powers from that realm..."

Atem finished for the teen, his tone grave. "Then he could easily overtake Bakura completely. And since Bakura's soul includes a Ka, he would be able to form that fragment of Bakura into any body he wished, before escaping into the real world."

While Ryou went whiter than he already was, Malik slammed a palm on the table, growling. "Damn it! Why didn't you tell us this before? If we'd known that your passing wouldn't do anything to stop this then-"

"I didn't know," he said as he cut the blond off, frowning. Atem looked down at the table, before continuing. "And I never realized just how much I didn't know until I reached the Fields of Aaru in the afterlife... But the fact is, this changes nothing. Even if Zorc has latched onto Bakura's soul, it is still possible to recover him. Difficult yes. But still possible." He pulled a deck of cards from his pocket, spreading it out on the table. "These are all spell cards I've gathered for the trip; but for the next step, I need you two to pick an armoured monster from your decks. What we are essentially going to do is open a gate into the Shadow Realm without activating the laws of a Shadow Game. By doing this, we can explore as much of the realm as we wish, with no worries for time. However," he added with a stern if not commanding tone, "It is still dangerous to simply stand there. Much like the games themselves, the realm is toxic to the living, and will slowly eat away at your energy until death. This is where your monsters will come in."

He looked over at Ryou, who held out the card he'd picked from his deck. "By summoning the cards within the realm," the teen said as he turned to look at Malik, "We will be granted their protection. In a sense, you could say that..." He trailed off, frowning slightly as he tried to explain. "Well, we will essentially 'become' the duel monster, gaining their armour for protection in the realm." Ryou looked back at Atem, who merely nodded.

"As Ryou said; the monster you pick will act as an 'armour' of sorts within the realm. I myself won't need one; I've already died, and therefore am already merged with my Ka. For you two, however, it is necessary to borrow the Ka of another being, in this case the ones in your deck." He stood up, picking up his dishes to put in the sink. "Once you've picked your card Malik, let me know. We'll leave for the Shadow Realm as soon as everyone is ready."

Malik blinked, eyes narrowed with slight suspicion before he nodded. Rather than leaving the room however, he pulled a card from his pocket, Ryou blinking at it oddly. "...That one?"

Atem also blinked, owlishly almost, as he moved from the sink to look at the card. "Makyura the Destructor... That should work quite well actually. Though..." He scratched the side of his cheek, before laughing quietly. "I didn't realize you kept that card..."

He frowned. "Just because I never used the deck myself doesn't mean that I didn't put it together. 'Marik' might have been the one to use this card, but it was and still is mine."

"Er, I didn't mean anything.."

The teen snorted, standing up and crossing his arms. "Whatever, it's not like I care anymore." He turned his head away for a moment, before looking at Atem. "I have my card, so lets get moving already!"

"Right, right.. Just hold on..." He gathered the spell cards, picking one off the top and holding it to himself. "Iw, 'Soul Release!'" Malik stared as Atem told the card to essentially 'come' to him in Egyptian, tendrils of ethereal light puncturing his body. As the leather-clad body he'd been residing in fell to the floor, Malik and Ryou quickly stepped back to give Atem some space. "Ack... I'd forgotten how cramped this would be..."

Ryou stared incredulously as Malik rolled his eyes. "You managed to forget that you're actually 12 plus feet tall? Great, we'll never get through this..."

The bird laughed nervously, a few feathers shaking. "It's quite easy actually..." He coughed, dropping the smile and holding out an arm as he reached past the two teens before him. "Now then.. 'SEN'!"

Open, Malik thought to himself for a brief moment. Brief, because, as soon as Atem had said this, his and Ryou's attention both had been drawn to the area his hand had been. A rip of sorts appeared in the room, before expanding downwards in the same manner as a rip in a piece of fabric. Or reality, as he supposed it was doing now. The two looked up at Atem, who nodded his head forwards. "After you two; once I enter, the gate will close."

Nodding silently, Ryou jumped in first, Malik frowning as the albino did so. Taking one last look at Atem, he leapt in, summoning his card as he blindly swam through the pitch black darkness he found himself thrust into. "I summon Makyura the Destructor!"

There was a change almost instantly. Rather than complete darkness, he looked around at the almost bright realm with shock, landing silently on some sort of floating rock. Malik looked himself over, blinking at how well the armour from his card was fitting him before turning to face the 'countryside' as it was. The sky, or the ground even, was a bright shade of violet, with clouds of varying shades darker or lighter scattered around them. As far as he could see, barren rock-like islands floated around... But other than that, there was nothing.

"Hnhnhnhnhn!" Or was there? He squinted, watching as what looked to be a white dog, a jackal, his mind told him, chased after a small, barely visible child in rags. A chuckling noise could be heard from where they were, and the blond had to blink a few times as, before the pair vanished all together, the jackal tackled the small child only for it to vanish into a black, melting cloud of smoke.

There was a 'thump' noise from beside him, and Malik looked up as Atem's bird-like visage stood above him. "You took long enough... Did you see that just now?"

Atem blinked, looking towards where Malik had been looking. "You mean the two that were chasing each other just now?"

"No, I mean the other ones.." Malik rolled his eyes, before glaring back up at the bird. "They're the only ones here other than us! Well... They were at least."

He shrugged, before looking back down at Malik. "It's normal for it to seem empty; generally, with new arrivals so to speak, duel monsters tend to clear the area, at least until they know more about them. As for those two..." The bird paused, before shrugging again. "While I can't say I recognize what card they correspond with, I can definitely tell you to expect more incidents like that."

Malik sighed, crossing his arms while somehow avoiding any scratches from the blades attached to his forearms. "Great... ...Hey, where's Ryou?"

"Hn? Didn't you follow him?"

There was an awkward silence, before Malik growled. "Great! We've lost him!" He sighed, somehow managing to scratch his head without impaling it on one of the blades. "Which reminds me- if this place is so empty, how are we going to find Bakura?"

"With this." Atem's arms vanished underneath the 'chest fluff', obviously searching around for something before coming out with a card in hand. "Lead Compass!" The bird held the card out, he and Malik watching as a large metallic arrow materialized from the card before pointing towards their right and glowing faintly.

Malik smirked, turning to Atem. "Not bad for a chicken- let's go!" He leaped off the rock in the direction the arrow pointed in, Atem taking off after him as they walked seemingly in mid air.

"I AM NOT A CHICKEN!"

* * *

Ryou looked around the area he'd fallen in, slowly getting to his feet as he brushed some dirt of the robes of the 'Lady of Faith'. "Malik?" He looked around nervously, frowning slightly as a distant chuckle could be heard. "...A...Atem?" The chuckling grew louder, and he turned abruptly as a bodiless voice echoed around him.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Nhnhnhnhnhn..." Nothing was there, nothing at all. He swallowed, scared eyes looking around the stone arch on the rock he wandered around on, and he continued to shout for the others.

"Malik? Atem? ...Anyone..?" He shivered, robes swishing slightly as he pulled his arms close. Oh why hadn't he picked a more sensible form of armour for this? He was practically defenceless like this... "...Guys?" His voice almost squeaked that time, pitch raised to mirror his over all feeling at the moment.

And the constant chuckling wasn't helping. "Hnhnhnhnhn..." At last another sound was heard, but regardless it was no comfort to the teen. Slowly, hesitantly, he turned around to look at the puddle of black on the ground behind him. Drip... Drip... Drip... Ripples appeared each time a drop fell, and a thin black mist appeared to evaporate upwards from the puddle each time this happened. Ryou slowly allowed his gaze to move upwards, an audible gulp escaping him as he took a step back, heel stopping only when he hit the edge of the rock.

Above, sitting on the top of the stone arch, sat a gleaming white jackal shrouded by the mists of the shadows. The jackal's face was unnatural in appearance, a wide and seemingly jester-like grin on his face, and his eyes narrowed into slits. To add to the image however, his fur stuck up at all ends, and Ryou almost had difficulty identifying his hair from clumps of fur that stuck upwards to defy gravity. He decided, however, that there were more important matters at hand when he spotted the source of the dripping.

The jackal, though mostly white, had something black clutched between his forelegs. The legs themselves were stained the same colour, and from the object he held that misted away, a steady set of black droplets fell. He squinted slightly, before almost stepping back again out of shock. A loud gasp escaped him as he clapped his hands over his mouth. A child... He was holding... A child... His eyes quivered as he watched the beast continue to chuckle, the child itself soon fading into nothing but a black mist that vanished into the jackal's being.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... A little white mouse has gotten lost in the realm of shadows," the voice said, Ryou just realizing now that it came from the jackal. It stood, turning his menacing grin towards the teen and continuing to laugh. "Such terrible luck, for the little mouse..." The grin widened, a task that he thought impossible as the jackal's face came closer to his. "You could get eaten."

He finally found the strength to speak, moving around the currently floating jackal in an attempt to get away. "Who..." He took a shuddering breath, arms held close as he found himself backing against the stone arch. "Who are you?"

The grin remained in place as the jackal landed, cocking his head. "Who am I?" It took a step forwards, seemingly vanishing into a white mist before appearing in a lounged position behind the teen. "I am me of course... And yet," he said as he chuckled at Ryou's instant reaction to jump away from the rock, "I am not me." The chuckling continued on, and he moved his face so that he was nearly nose to nose with the frozen teen. "A curious case, wouldn't you say? Even the shadows agree!"

Ryou's eyes turned, as though outside of his control, as the jackal's shadow suddenly flared and spread to form a shape reminiscent of the small child he'd seen clutched in his grasp earlier. A slit appeared in the shadow, widening to form a grin as it nodded in an eerily cute manner. He snapped his attention back to the jackal himself, gritting his teeth as he worked up the courage to press harder. "Do you... Do you have a name?"

"Everyone has a name," the creature stated matter-of-fact-ly, his shadow faltering as he moved to float around the teen. Ryou shuddered involuntarily at the being, silently wishing the others would hurry up and get him. This thing was... Frightening, confusing... In fact, that grin and his manner of speech almost had him flashing back to Alice in Wonderland. And something told him that 'Alice' wouldn't have survived the Shadow Realm. "But for a being such as myself, it would appear that no one elected to tell me it. They won't even tell me the day, or who you are-" He vanished into a mist again, appearing a few feet away in a sitting position as he looked to Ryou with the grin in place. "Though that's to be expected, isn't it? Ahahahaha!" The jackal paused, his grin becoming more dark somehow. "What's your name... Little mouse?"

He took another step back, stuttering slightly as he gave his answer. Anything to make this thing leave him alone, anything at all... Briefly, he recalled Atem's short description of the importance of a 'name' earlier in the week.

'With a name, even the weakest of monsters can take you in the Shadow Realm. For the name holds power, and memory. That is why, until I could remember my own name, I was unable to face Zorc, or remember my past.'

The teen swallowed, before coming up with a false surname. "T... Tozokuo Ryou..." He frowned, fists tightening on his sleeves as he gained a less frightened looking expression. "And I... I am no mouse!"

"Hnhnhnhn... Ahahaha... AHAHAHA!" Ryou tensed as the jackal burst into laughter, jumping into the air to float around behind the teen. With his head just beside his ear, he dropped his voice to a menacing, and somewhat familiar whisper. "Tozokuo Ryou... Your name is but a half truth, the given is true but the former is just the opposite..." He tilted his head in towards Ryou, before continuing with a hissed and less than humorous tone. "Are you lying to me, Bakura Ryou?"

He jumped, backing up to the point where he was somehow standing above the ground and off the edge of the rock. Ryou stared at the jackal with wide eyes, shaking as he attempted to control his breathing. The jackal, merely laughing, instead opted to follow him again, moving to position itself above the teen. "How..." He swallowed, looking up with fear evident in every bit of his body. "How did you know that!"

"Hnhnhnhnhn... How indeed..." He grinned down, the shadows playing around his form eerily as Ryou gave a small whimper at the image. "I'm afraid I don't completely know, little mouse..."

Wanting nothing more to do with the beast, Ryou finally did what he probably should have done when he'd first run into the jackal, taking a few steps backwards as it began to laugh again. "Stay away from me," he whispered, shaking his head before turning around to run from the creature. "STAY AWAY!"

As he ran, the jackal merely gave a sad chuckle before fading into a mist, his voice eventually following him. "Now now, little white mouse..."

"I only speak the truth."


	4. Old Enemies

**Disclaimers: **Yu-Gi-Oh! Belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. I am only here to fill it with my perverted fandom *shot*

**Credits: **Thanks to the WONDERFUL (I can't stress this enough) Usagi-Squared for writing our roleplay into this wonderful story *showers love on her*

* * *

There was something to be said about travelling in the Shadow Realm. Mostly how boring it was. It was easy to forget the reason for being there as they walked, defying gravity as they followed the arrow from stone to stone. Easier still to voice this impatience... Though for the most part Malik had managed to hold back.

So far. Malik held his hands behind his head, stifling a yawn as he and Atem walked in silence. How long had it been now? Minutes, hours? Days even? When he'd asked earlier about time, the bird had simply shrugged. 'Time doesn't really pass in the Shadow Realm so to speak,' he'd said. 'Rather, the only things it can effect are those that live by it.'

Yea. Because that made so much sense. He frowned, eventually throwing his arms down and looking up at the bird in agitation. They hadn't found any trace of Ryou or Bakura yet, and so far it didn't look like they would any time soon. "Are we there yet..?" He half asked out of spite, irritation more than evident in the bored tone he used.

Atem, who had stopped walking and taken to gliding and flying beside the former tomb guardian, continued to stare ahead at the compass. Without even blinking, he turned to follow the needle as it veered to the side, before shaking his head. "No."

"...Hn..." Malik sighed, before gaining a conniving smirk. "How about now?" If they were stuck wandering through some unknown wasteland, he mind as well get a bit of fun out of it. "How about now?"

There was another turn, and the two continued off towards a fairly large looking set of 'islands' with tops that disappeared into the clouds above. "No. Stop asking."

The smirk grew into a grin, and Malik jogged up to stand beneath the bird. "Are we there now?"

"...NO." Atem tensed, eyes narrowing as he focused on moving ahead. He refused to snap back at Malik just because he was annoyed... But it was very very tempting after all that had gone on. He opted to resist however, seeing how he'd likely end up gouging his feet on the blades attached to Malik's arms.

The pair continued on, the large 'islands' soon shaping up to be one large one. Tall cliffs stood at each side, with jagged and seemingly uniform shards of stone jutting out from the sides. Malik looked up and squinted into the clouds, frowning lightly. You couldn't quite see it, but the top of the sides seemed to meet in the middle, forming a cave. The more interesting thing about it was that the top almost seemed to have a shape... "Is that it," he said as he pointed towards it, the arrow doing the same.

Atem blinked, looking down as he alighted beside the teen in mid-air. "Quite possibly. The compass is pointing towards it after all..." He frowned, crossing his arms. "We cannot be too certain though, as the compass can't approximate distance. We won't know for sure until we either see Bakura ourselves, or the needle begins to spin."

"Huh." Malik returned to leaning his head back against his arms, still walking beside the bird as silence fell over the two again. "...Are we there ye- OW!" He stumbled as Atem's wing clipped him across the back, before turning to glare at the bird.

Said bird, still holding an agitated twitch in his frown, abruptly stopped to turn his head towards their right.

Malik in the meantime, decided to take that opportunity to shout up at the former pharaoh. "Hey! Do you get a kick out of sending me across the ground with those?"

"Quiet!" The blond blinked at Atem's sudden sternness, frowning as he continued. "...Did you hear something just now?"

He continued frowning, crossing his arms. "You mean besides the 'thump' of your wings hitting my back? No." The teen paused briefly, before looking up at Atem curiously. "...Why?"

"I could have sworn I heard..." The pair blinked as what Atem heard began to reach their ears more clearly.

"Bloody moronic jackal and his pain in the arse riddles..."

Malik grinned as the familiar voice of Ryou echoed through the area, Atem merely blinking as the English cursing flew right over his head. "Ryou!" He waved his arms above his head, narrowly missing Atem's wings as he made an odd squawking noise.

"Malik! Be careful with those!"

"Eh, I wouldn't have hit you..."

In the distance, Ryou's robed figure could be made out, the agitation fairly clear even from afar. The teen's fists were held at his side as he occasionally kicked at the air, still shouting at no one in particular. "'I don't really have a name, I don't suppose you remember it'? Bollocks! Complete bo-" He blinked, the sound of Malik and Atem's arguing finally reaching him. "Guys?" The albino quickly switched back to Japanese, running towards the two figures in the distance with a cry of relief. "Malik! Atem-san!"

The pair turned, Atem breaking into a grin as he waved a wing and an arm at the teen. "Ah! Ryou!" He stepped back as Ryou skidded to a stop on the rock that he and Malik stood on, the latter tapping the teen's shoulder.

"Hey, you alright? You look pissed..." Ryou turned to Malik, blinking as he regained his usual innocent stare and shaking his head.

He was a little red from the pent up agitation at that Jackal; it'd hounded him for what seemed to be hours before finally letting up really, and it was ticking him off to no end. "I'm fine..." He crossed his arms, sighing as he turned to look at where he'd come from with a frown. "I just didn't have the best entry is all... It's nothing, Malik."

Malik scratched his head, while Atem looked down at the teen in disbelief. "I don't know," the blond said, shaking his head. "The last time I saw you this red was... Never really. Plus you've been clenching your fists since you arrived."

Beside him, Atem nodded. "You should probably stop before you cut your hands.."

"Ah..." Ryou blinked, looking down at his hands as they unclenched. There were fairly evident welts where his nails had dug into the skin there, and he laughed nervously. "...I guess that jackal had me more buggered than I thought," he muttered in English.

"Pardon?"

Malik rolled his eyes. "He said something about a jackal annoying him. Oi, Ryou, try sticking to Japanese so I don't have to play translator ok?"

He nodded, smiling nervously as he turned to look up at Atem. "Sorry about that..."

The bird merely shook his head, also smiling. "It's fine. Just where were you anyways?"

Ryou quickly regained a slight frown, crossing his arms again. "Right... I don't really know where, but there was something... Else there."

"Something else?" Malik frowned; hadn't Atem said that it was normally empty at entry?

The teen nodded. "That's right. A white jackal of sorts...Oooog..." He scowled, huffing in a very 'un-Ryou'-like manner. "I could murder that beast if I didn't know it was impossible!"

The others blinked, sharing nervous glances as Ryou continued, ignoring the pair of 'excuse me?' 'what the hell..?' related comments coming his way. "It... Ate some sort of shadowy child, and apparently decided that it had nothing better to do than float around me spouting off nonsense, going in circles!" His hair bristled, a rather intresting sight with the hat in its way. Somehow, Ryou managed to forget that the reason he'd run so fast to get away from the jackal was because he was so afraid of it... But really, it was his story, and he was all too ticked to admit that just yet.

"Going on and on, saying things that made no sense..."

While Ryou grumbled on about this, Malik attempted to tap the boy again. "You know, this would be a lot easier to figure out if you made sense yourself." Atem nodded in agreement, and the albino sighed.

Taking a more relaxed, not to mention 'normal' pose for himself, he turned to face Malik. "Sorry... He was just so... Irritating. I asked him his name at one point, and he turned it into a bloody circle of 'Who am I? That's the question isn't it? I'm me, but I'm not me', and he kept going on and on..." He trailed off, shaking his head with a sigh. "It made no sense what so ever, and he wouldn't stop hounding me for at least two hours!"

Atem chose not to comment on the laws of time within the Shadow Realm, instead blinking at Ryou's description of the jackal. Sharing a glance with Malik briefly, he turned back to the albino to shake his head. "If not for the circles I'd say that was normal... As it is, since I can't tell what's in something's nature without seeing them myself, I can't really be sure..."

As the bird trailed off, Malik shook his head. "Right... Well, Ryou's back with us, so we can focus on getting Bakura back now, right?" He looked up at Atem expectantly, and the other looked down before nodding.

"Good idea- the sooner we find Bakura, the better." As they turned to walk into the cave however, Atem jumped, the compass needle abruptly turning to face almost directly upwards.

"Rrrrnnnnnnnnnnggg..."

Blood drained from his face as he took a small step back, the others following suit. A shiver ran down his spine as the bird's feathers stood on end with involuntary fear, and he slowly looked up to see the source of the low and echoing growl that sounded around them.

"Atem..." Malik swallowed as Ryou shrank back, both boys following the bird's gaze nervously. "What was that..."

An audible gulp as Atem's wings spread to shield them both from view. "We may be a little later than we hoped..."

"GROAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOO!" The sides of the cave began to move, the three frozen in place as the clouds began to clear above them. What was thought to be walls littered with shattered stone soon revealed itself to be massive, thickly furred legs, and the massive masked face turned to open with a roar. "GARAOOOOOOOO!" Pieces of rock littered the ground, falling seemingly from nowhere as a mane of snakes moved to strike from the beast's neck.

"Hold on tight!"

"Eh?"

"What!"

Atem lept backwards, ignoring the pain he got from clutching Malik's armor with his feet as he pulled the two up into the air. The shock of being pulled into the air was quickly beat out by the horrific image of the beast before them, Ryou rendered silent as Malik's eyes widened. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!"

"GROOOOOOO!" The sound of thunder appeared to clap around them each time the beast moved, it's massive head turning to face them as it reared up on its hind legs. The bird dodged a swipe from the beast, knocking the wind out of the two teens as he came to rest on a slab of stone behind the creature. "ROAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOO!" It's roar sounded almost like a moan, loud yet pathetic as it searched for it's prey, before the disgusting, snakelike tail at it's rear hissed a warning of sorts and turned to face them.

"Behind youuuuu..." They froze as a hissing, piercing screech of a voice exited the tail's mouth. It was a chilling tone, and for the two armored teens it seemed to fit the tail all to well. A dark, almost black scaled creature with a draconic head bearing eyes as red as hot coals...

A head that Atem recognized all to well. "That's..." He picked the two up again, ducking beneath the tail and body as it twisted around to face them. Finding solace behind a large fallen stone, Atem took a cautionary glance at the beast before turning to the others. "That is what happens when the 'Ib', the 'Heart' of a person is twisted too far. In ordinary circumstances, the Ka, or body of a being begins as a basic, mostly undetermined vessel, to be shaped and form by the emotions created by the Ib." He took another look, continuing as the two boys beside him followed his gaze in fear-induced awe. "In this case however, there is no Ka. It appears Zorc's power here is stronger than I thought possible without a body... Rather than finding Bakura's Ka, he's merged his Ib with the surroundings and twisted it into another image. ...Look out!" Before the others could respond, they were picked up once again, the rock they'd hidden behind shattering beneath the weight of the beast's paw.

Clutched safely in the bird's talons as he flew around them, Malik turned his head down to look at the beast. "But how is Bakura's soul in pieces? He was whole wasn't he?"

"It's likely an effect of being used as a pawn in the Millennium 'World' game that Zorc created," Atem shouted through the growls and roars around him. "Zorc killed Bakura once, and Bakura himself was near death when possessed during the 'game'- the effect could easily cause his soul to fragment into pieces! It's what it does in normal circumstances after all; divide into pieces and merge back together in the afterlife. But the Shadow Realm is acting as a prison. He can't escape, and his soul cannot merge until within direct contact with all the pieces."

Ryou's face blanched with realization, while Malik's merely went red with anger. "Then what the hell do we do! Zorc has at least a part of his soul right? Woah!" He shuddered as his body lurched with the dive that Atem had just taken, before being dropped on what was left of the cliffs before hand.

"We fight," he said with a severe and determined expression, "We target the tail, the manifestation of Zorc in Bakura's fragmented soul, and we destroy it. After that, we merely find the rest of him." He turned, abruptly throwing a card up as the 'chimera' as it appeared to be attempted to strike once more. "MIRROR FORCE!" Turning back to the others while the beast was momentarily distracted, the bird frowned slightly. "Both of your armors come with weapons of sorts. Your blades for one Malik, and an innate magic ability for you, Ryou. I will attempt to take most of the fighting away, and finish it as quick as possible... But I need you to cover me!"

They nodded, Ryou looking fairly nervous while Malik merely clenched his fists in rage. "Okay!" Malik turned to Atem, before unclenching his fists.

"Atem... Take me to him!" The bird blinked, but nodded in agreement before taking off with the teen in his grasp. Ryou shouted briefly as he threw up a shield in an instinctual response to the attack the others barely avoided.

"Please hurry everyone!" He tensed, flinching as his shield began to shatter. Next time he was choosing a stronger monster...

Malik turned back as Atem continued towards the tail, nodding as much as he could without slicing the bird with the blades on his helmet. "Hang in there Ryou!"

His only answer was a rather loud shout in English, before he himself was dropped on the rump of the beast. Looking up, he suppressed a nervous gulp; this tail... Zorc rather, was alot bigger up close. He flinched as it began to speak, mentally adding 'louder' to the list of things it was up close as well. "YOU THINK YOU CAN FACE ME..?" There was a chilling laugh and Malik backed away slightly, spotting Atem in the corner of his eye as the bird swooped around the side to lunge at the beast. "HAHAHAHAHA..." Malik watched, frozen for a moment as Atem dove and missed the snake-like parasite, an avian screech released as the bird dodged Zorc's strke as well.

Shaking his fear off, he charged the snake, striking the base before the beast turned his ugly head down on him. "TRYING THAT ARE WE? IT LOOKS LIKE YOU NEED A LITTLE DISTRACTION!" Distract-

"Ung!" He quickly sliced off the numerous snakes that had appeared to ensnare his arms, before more sprouted around his legs to do the same. "Shit!" Effectively distracted, he winced as Zorc turned back to face Atem with a menacing laugh.

"STILL THINK YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ME AGAIN? I, WHO COULD ONLY BE SEALED AWAY IN FRAGMENTS AT MOST?" He laughed, swerving to the side as Atem barreled past again. "DON'T BE SO NAIVE PHARAOH!"

The bird gritted his teeth as the head of a falcon appeared around his own, a protective helm of shadows created from his soul. "Naive? I think not, Zorc!" With an ear piercing screech, he dove not at Zorc's head, but at the beast's base, Zorc himself freezing as Ryou sent a spell hurtling his way. So when Atem had flown around the first time..!

"NO!"

Atem grinned wryly, the helmet tearing through all that connected Zorc to Bakura's Ib. "And need I remind you Zorc," he shouted as the chimera vanished in an unearthly moan of pain, "My reign as Pharaoh has been over for over 3000 years- You're behind the times!"

"A-ATEM! HEY!" The bird blinked, his helm vanishing before he turned to look at Malik's now falling form. Paling, he darted down to snatch the teen out of mid air. "About time!"

He chuckled nervously, flying past Ryou and grabbing him as well. "Sorry... I was so focused on getting Zorc away from Ib..."

Ryou shook his head as Malik fumed, the pair being dropped off on the ground. "At least it's all over now though. We can focus on-" He jumped as the cold voice of Zorc echoed from behind them, the three turning to face it with a jolt.

"RAHAHAHAHAAA! DON'T THINK THAT I NEED ANOTHER'S SOUL TO HOLD A FORM PHARAOH... THIS IS MY DOMAIN, AND I HAVE PLENTY OF ENERGY TO SUSTAIN MYSEL- UNGK!" There was a flash of light between the eyes of Zorc's flailing body, and to the surprise of the others, the demon stopped speaking. Instead, his body fell to the side in two even halves, vanishing into shadows as another voice was heard.

"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Ryou tensed as a familiar chuckle pierced the air, a white fog being pulled from the clean slice made in Zorc's body. "I believe that you have something of mine..." The fog formed into the body of a white jackal, its back turned to the three as he pawed towards it still chuckling. "You won't mind if I take it back, will you?"

Malik recognized the voice immediately. "Ba... Bakura!" The others blinked, glancing from Malik to the jackal curiously.

The jackal himself also turned, raising an unseen eyebrow with a smirk. "Oh, is that what I'm called?" He turned back to the demon, who was now twisting and writhing from the cloud of shadows to reform into the snake he'd been before. "I wouldn't know, this WORM seems to think the name belongs to him!" A growl escaped him, as he prepared to attack. "It would seem I need to remind him otherwise!" As the others stared at the scene, the Jackal leapt forwards, tackling Zorc into a white and invisible fog.

The others turned to Atem, silently asking for an explanation as the bird coughed. "Ryou... That was the jackal you saw earlier wasn't it..."

The albino nodded, before turning back to look at the fog. "Y-Yes... But he didn't act anything like that before..."

He nodded, crossing his arms as he squinted into the fog. At the moment, all he could really see going on was constant lunges and strikes at each other... It was impossible to tell who was winning. "What you met earlier was two pieces of his soul then... His Ka, of course, and his 'Akh'."

Malik blinked, frowning. "The Akh? That counts as part of the soul?"

Another nod. "Of course; it's the first part to separate from the body during death, the logic and cunning of a person. Without a personality, it becomes rather curious, often cycling through its own questions and answers in a cryptic manner... But it normally meets with the body and spirit shortly after death as well, so no one sees this." He frowned, continuing. "The Ib, which contains the emotions and personality of a person is never seen without the spirit, the Ba. It represents a being's life energy, as well as an acting vessel for those with no body. When we separated Zorc..."

Ryou blinked, nodding as he understood what Atem was getting at. "That jackal... Bakura. He must have followed me out here... And then run into the other pieces of his soul when you separated Zorc from it..."

"Hn..." Malik blinked, but grinned, nodding as well. "Either way, that's most of Bakura found; he's alright now!" He turned to the fog, about to charge in. "Now lets go he-" He scowled, looking up at Atem as the bird shook his head, clawed hands gripping his shoulders. "Hey!"

He sighed, shaking his head. "We need to rest; Bakura is a powerful fighter. He'll be able to handle himself... But going in there now will only cause more problems than solutions right now."

The teen continued to glare, growling slightly. Nonetheless, he crossed his arms and conceded. Atem, in the meantime, turned back to squint through the fog. What was happening now...

What Atem could not see from the silhouettes of the two battling behind the fog, was the condition of the pair. The jackal was panting heavily, his white fur stained with both the demon's black, aqueous fluids and his own red blood. He glared at Zorc, somehow holding a crazed grin as he spoke. "So your name is 'Zorc' is it?" He gave a harsh, barking laugh as the worm gave no answer. The jackal stumbled forwards, grin widening as what few memories he could glean from his shadow came to mind. "Well then, 'ZORC'... Consider this the last time you even CONSIDER using me, the KING of THIEVES, as a pawn!" With a shout, he leaped at Zorc, teeth bared as the worm gave a howling cry. The jackal's teeth sunk into it's throat, before pulling back a chunk of the beast's throat. The howling screech from Zorc filled the entire realm as it burned, flames billowing away from the wound as his killer jumped away in silence. The jackal watched, the demon slowly vanishing into the nonexistent wind as ashes, before finally, the fog around them cleared to reveal a tall stone tablet. A tablet with only a few large hieroglphys carved into it... His name.

Ryou blinked, staring at the sight of the battle worn jackal before swallowing nervously. "Is... Is it over..?"

Malik nodded, while Atem merely stared. "...I believe so..."

The jackal ignored the three, instead walking towards the tablet with a bloodied grin. "At last..." He looked up at the stone, reading the name with wide eyes. "With this, I will truly be myself again... And not some puppet for a demonic worm! AHAHAHHA- K-Kah... Kuh..." His laughter was cut short with a hacking cough, blood splaying across the ground before he placed a paw on the tablet. "Now then... To get my 'Ren' back."

A blinding light seared through the carved lines, before flooding into the tablet itself. As it spread along the stone, the light intensified, bathing the room in such a bright light that Atem was forced to cover everyone's eyes with a wing. He squinted, while the others shielded their eyes from the light that still poured through his wing with their arms.

Gradually, it dimmed. And just as slowly, the bird lowered his wing, pulling it back and opening his eyes one at a time. "...Bakura..?" Atem looked down at Malik briefly, before following the blond's gaze.

It was indeed Bakura, or at least the Bakura of the 'past' so to speak. It wasn't surprising that both of the teens beside Atem were staring, out of confusion and awe both. It was obvious who it was of course; for Malik simply because of the voice and the carved hieroglyphs they'd seen before, and for Ryou, the mere feeling of his former 'darker half'. But aside from the color of his hair, the Thief King looked very little like his 'modern day' counterpart. He was tanned for one, as much so as Atem and Malik themselves. Though he was mostly turned away from them, they could see a rather large scar, running from his eye downwards. There were two others, perpendicular to this, running across it, though these were not nearly as long.

Even his robes were the same familiar garb of the Thief King from his memories. But there were differences, Atem noted with slightly narrowed eyes. Definitely differences. Subtle ones; clumps of hair pointed upwards in the shape of the 'Jackal's ears, black, slightly lengthened fingernails that were likely claws...

The Thief King turned, his own eyes narrowed with slight suspicion as he turned to face the trio. There was a silence... And then, Malik stepped forwards to break the silence with a shocked expression before he broke into a grin. "Ba... Bakura!"

The ensuing charge involved a briefly shocked expression on Bakura's face before he was summarily tackled to the ground. "Fool," he wheezed out. "My ribs are mostly broken!"

"Ah- Sh-Shit! 'Kura!"

Atem rubbed his head at the scene, while Ryou stared confused. He should probably explain the negative effects of what would happen when they got back (not to mention that Bakura still wouldn't have a body), but for now, it was probably best to let the two have their fun.

Even if one of them had broken ribs now.

* * *

**AN: **I'm totally going to ruin this ending by going "D'AAAWWWWWWWW" *heart*

Sooo, weirdly enough, as the chapters go along, there seems to be more and more of the f-bomb being dropped... along with more cursing, but that's because it seems everyone in yu-gi-oh are just angry people. Especially Marik. WHO WILL SHOW UP. N HIS AMAZING-NESS *spoil spoil spoil*

I've said to much! *hides*

R&R *heart*


	5. Manipulation

**Disclaimers: **Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi, and any other items mentioned in this belong to their respective owners.

**Credits: **Usagi-Squared wrote this, and we both made the idea for the fanfiction

* * *

Broken ribs or not, Bakura was still Bakura. In the few moments that Atem had decided to leave them be, the pair on the ground sat up, Bakura holding Malik rather possessively as he smirked at the bird. "Ah... 'Pharaoh;," he said with a sarcastic, if not somewhat charming drawl. "And to whom do I owe this 'great honor' of seeing you again?"

The bird blinked, scratching his cheek. Aside from Zorc, he hadn't been called pharaoh for a very, very long time to say the least... And while he expected it from Zorc (The demon was fairly set on the whole 'kill the pharaoh' thing, so he didn't think that Zorc would bother with his name)...

He supposed he should have expected it from him, but nonetheless, he shook his head. "Ah... Besides Zorc, I haven't been called 'pharaoh' in over three thousand years... My name is Atem, Bakura. Whether you call me by it is your choice, but please; that is all I am."

The thief snickered, before breaking into a laugh. "Please, I know full well you haven't been Pharaoh for a while now- you should know me well enough to know that I'm screwing with your tiny mind." Malik smirked at that comment, joining Bakura in the sniggering as Atem continued to scratch his cheek.

"Perhaps so but I hadn't thought you ever bothered with learning my name..." He laughed nervously, resisting the urge to curse Bakura's name as he glanced down at Ryou. The boy was fiddling with his robes, but otherwise silent. Blinking, he turned back to Bakura. "Er... Pardon?"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "I said, 'you obviously don't remember that you used your name to seal Zorc away'. I might have been sealed after your time Pharaoh, but living with that pathetic excuse of a worm for 3000 plus years tends to get certain facts nailed into your mind. Your name being one of them."

The bird blinked again; he'd been about to mention that he hadn't sealed Bakura, but it just occurred to him that for once, the thief hadn't blamed him. It was a nice change. Ryou cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of the others. "Ahm... Atem? Do you think we could go back now?"

Another blink. "Right... But first..." He took a seat, bringing him much closer to the level of the others in terms of height. "Before we go in, I need to warn you two," he said as he pointed at Ryou and Malik, "Of the drawbacks to having traveled in here."

"What?" Malik frowned, glaring at the bird while Ryou blinked and paled. "Drawbacks? And you couldn't have told us this before?"

Bakura merely crossed his arms, smirking slightly. "Oh, I'm sure it isn't anything fatal..." The smirk quickly became very, very threatening, and Atem suppressed a shudder. "Right, 'Pharaoh'?"

"Stop calling me pharaoh," he muttered, before shaking off the fear. "And no, nothing fatal. The fact is, given the amount of time we've spent here, the both of you will likely need to sleep for... Quite a while to say the least."

Beside him, Ryou blinked. "Is that all? That doesn't sound too bad..."

Atem scratched his cheek. "I wasn't done... Besides the exhaustion, Bakura will still need a body..."

"Of course... Because you couldn't have prepared that before hand, could you Pharaoh?"

He rolled his eyes, holding a hand to the side as he ignored the thief's comment. "SEN!" The familiar tear in the realm appeared, this time opening not to a flowing curtain of shadows, but a distorted view of the kitchen where Atem's body was still slumped. "After you," He said as he stepped back, Ryou eagerly hopping through to the other side. He was followed by Malik, partially supporting Bakura as the thief scoffed.

"Is that your body in there?" He turned to Atem with a grin, stepping into the 'gate'. "The afterlife wasn't good to you, was it?"

Atem gritted his teeth. "Bakura..."

The thief laughed, before hopping through the gate and leaving the bird to follow after. Said bird quickly retreated to his own body, stretching his arms with a crack before turning to the others.

Ryou, as it seemed, had already left the room. "...Where did Ryou-"

Malik smirked. "As soon as I got in, he said he took off for bed, saying this was all too much for him." The smirk became a grin, and he laughed before being cut off by a yawn. Before anyone said anything on this however, he took a seat and crossed his arms. "I'm good until this evening myself..."

"Pfft..." Bakura also took a seat, an interesting sight given that he was currently a mostly translucent spirit. "He's just a pansy... Almost cried when I tried taking over his body for the first time." He gave a vulpine grin, crossing his legs and arms. "It was actually quite amusing."

Atem, still the tallest in the room, merely blinked as he took a seat himself. "I thought that was Zorc's doing..."

The thief rolled his eyes. "Please, while I couldn't well control my actions, I was still completely aware of what was going on." He gained a rather dark expression, his grin having faded long ago.

"Ahn..." Atem coughed, pulling the attention back to him before continuing. "Right... I need both you and Malik to listen carefully as I explain the ritual we can use to get you a body."

Though Malik nodded, Bakura merely raised an eyebrow. "Rituals pharaoh? That sounds a little beyond your comfort zone..." He grinned. "I like it."

The teen scratched his cheek, chuckling nervously. "I thought you might..."

"Hey, Atem." He turned as Malik addressed him, blinking. "How do you know all this anyways," he said with a slight frown, "I mean... You didn't know all this in the past did you?"

Another blink, as the subject of the question gained a notably blank and innocent expression. Bakura also turned to the former pharaoh, frowning slightly as both he and Malik waited for the response. "Ah... You see... The Gods of Egypt tend to spend a lot of time in the fields... And the God of Wisdom had a habit of making lectures..." As he spoke, he appeared to be bowing his head lower and lower with embarrassment. Needless to say, the sight was amusing Bakura to no end, though the thief decided to finish the answer for him.

"And I suppose that if 'Heaven' is divided at all like duel monster cards, those lectures ended up in your general direction most of the time, didn't they."

Bakura smirked as Atem turned to him, nodding. "Ah... Yes. Thoth has the head of an Ibis, so he spent a fair amount of time on the isle set apart for flight attributed Kas..." He coughed, shaking his head slightly as he crossed his arms. "Back on subject... Listen close; under normal circumstances, the Akh, or the intellect and cunning of a soul, would separate to forge a path from the corpse to the afterlife. This path would allow the Ka and the Ba, the body and life energy, to meet with it there. The rest of the soul, the Ib, Ren, and Sheut (Shadow, Bakura told Malik, who then glared and said he knew that), would have to travel on their own to meet with and recombine with the other half of the soul."

The others nodded slightly, Malik glancing at Bakura before the thief spoke. "But let me guess; the Shadow Realm provides a bit of a problem doesn't it?"

He nodded. "Correct; when you were 'killed' in the Shadow Realm, your soul was split into all of its pieces, and divided across the realm. Your Akh, requiring a connection with a fragment of the soul, found solace in your Ka. After that, it subconsciously led your body to whatever fragments remained." The teen turned to Malik, smiling lightly. "That 'child' we saw that Bakura's Akh and Ka chased was likely the Sheut. The body cannot live without a shadow, which provides a balance of sorts for the soul- an equal division between light and dark, instinct and thought, as well as anything that our hearts have long since forgotten."

Bakura smirked. "Well... I suppose that explains how I successfully recognized names before I regained my own, now doesn't it." He turned to Atem, frowning lightly. "What does annoy me however, is that you're explaining this to someone who already knew these facts. Get to the point Pharaoh, before I become tempted to strangle you."

"Well, I doubt you could-" Atem gulped at the look that the thief sent to him, coughing nervously as he continued again. "In any case... We are going to utilize this connection to create a solid body. Since the path between the soul and the body was not formed properly, we will have to essentially force a new path; by tearing your Akh from your soul and placing it in the body created by the ritual. After that the rest of your soul will follow to rejoin the Akh in the body, making the soul whole again but, and I cannot stress this enough, if anything interrupts this process," he said as he took a glance at Malik, "Your Akh could be damaged; a process that could very well leave you mentally disabled."

Malik scowled. "Why are you looking at me? I'm not going to screw up something this important!"

He blinked. "I never said you would; I was about to say that I'll need you to distract Rishid or anyone else who stops by during the procedure." Ignoring the steady pair of glares he was getting with slight difficulty, he coughed and continued. "Now then... All the materials I need," he said as he stood up to grab a slip of paper from the fridge's notepad, "Will be written on this." He grabbed the pen, returning to the table before starting to write.

It was quickly snatched by Malik with a frown, Bakura looking over the teen's shoulder. The thief looked over the poor attempts at kanji with distaste. "Really Pharaoh, did you never assume control during a class? Your writing is absolutely pathetic."

The teen scratched his head. "Um..."

Malik rolled his eyes, taking the pen from him and preparing to write. "I'll make the list, just tell us what we need."

"Right." Atem nodded, before rattling off the ingredients. "Besides writing chalk to make the proper seal, I will also need the following to make a body. 35 liters of water, 20 kilograms of carbon, 4 liters of ammonia, 1.5 kilograms of lime, 800 grams of phosphorus, 250 grams of salt, 100 grams of saltpeter-"

The blond put up a hand, frowning. "What's saltpeter?"

Bakura answered for him. "Potassium nitrate. Also known as solid nitrogen; something I picked up on from Ryou's chemistry classes." He narrowed his eyes, suspicion evident on his mostly invisible face. "Just what kind of ritual is this..."

He ignored the pair, continuing on as Malik scrambled to continue writing. "80 grams of sulfur, 7.5 grams of fluorine, 5 grams of iron, 3 grams of silicon, and lastly a medium to small sized animal. Preferably a mammal." The teen looked at the others, adding one last comment. "Save for the last one, we could likely find all of those at either a Warehouse or a Hardware store..."

Across from him, Malik was rubbing his head with a groan. "There's no way I have the money for all that..." Beside him, Bakura laughed.

"Ah, but Malik, surely you remember just who it is you're doing this for? As the King of Thieves, I will gladly steal all of this. It is, after all, for my body..." He grinned, Malik staring at him before the thief turned to Atem. Face still bearing a sarcastic smirk, he crossed his arms. "Of course... It depends on if it would be alright with the 'virtuous Pharaoh'."

Atem appeared to distinctly attempting to ignore the last comment against him, instead leaning his head on one hand in thought. "You make a good point actually... In the state you are in now, possessing and purchasing the materials using their money would be incredibly easy." Whether it was because technically nothing was being stolen (save identity), or because the thief wasn't stealing from Atem himself, the others had to wonder why his morals had taken a nose dive in this particular situation. Perhaps it was just a matter of the 'lesser of two evils'... Whatever the other 'evil' was at least.

"Hn..." He thought about it a minute, the blond blinking just a few times as he considered Atem's morals. They must have been very... Different in the past. Then again, these were thief and an ex-pharaoh who had mastered Shadow Games. So morals probably weren't that high. "Okay..."

Bakura clapped his hands together, an odd disembodied sound being made as he grinned. "Wonderful! While your sudden change of heart in the matter astounds me, I think I'll quite enjoy this 'excursion'..."

Atem stood up, nodding. "In any case, I'll prepare the rest of the ritual; remember, any animal is fine, but it should preferably be a mammal... And... Alive." He seemed to have a bit of trouble stomaching that; the former pharaoh was just slightly pale as he pushed his chair in and left to do just as he'd said.

The remaining two watched, before Bakura chuckled. "I think I rather enjoy this 'new' Pharaoh... Atem was it?" The other blinked, staring at Bakura as the 'ghost' continued grinning. Before he said anything however, the thief gave a mock bow and vanished from sight. "See you in a bit..."

* * *

Cairo was a large city, by any standards. It spanned out a fair distance from both sides of the Nile river that it banked on, and stood out in the middle of the desert like a throbbing, red thump on Ryou's body. That, or the young woman that Bakura was currently considering on using to do his 'theft'.

They were on the outskirts at the moment; a place that was best for both warehouse stores containing chemicals and people seeking to leave town. And at this moment, the fairly attractive looking woman was looking like an impressive candidate for 'identity theft'. Not to mention card debt. He smirked, floating behind the blond before 'stepping in'.

To the outside world, the woman seemed to stumble slightly, stumbling on the heels she wore before straightening up with blank eyes and an eerie grin. The expression vanished however, in lieu of a slightly more hidden image. Tossing the hair that had fallen in 'her' face back, Bakura tested his control of the large breasted woman's body before turning to the jeep she'd been about to enter. A rental? He smirked, chuckling to himself as the vehicle hummed to life and he took the wheel. He felt oddly ridiculous in this body; this must have been what a transvestite felt like. Backing up the jeep, he headed off for the Warehouse he'd spotted earlier. The sooner this was done, the better; this body was a tight fit.

The building itself wasn't too far away. Entering the store, it was even easier to find a store employee to con into being the 'mule'. "Excuse me," he heard himself say with the woman's surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) sultry voice. "This is my first time in this store, so I need a little help finding everything I need..." The young man he was speaking to quickly nodded with wide eyes before being handed a list, which Bakura quickly wrote out while speaking.

"Er... This looks kinda sketchy..."

Bakura- The woman rather, frowned, crossing 'her' arms with a slight pout. "Oh? So then you won't help me? If I don't bring all of this in for the college, I'll probably fail the class..." Inwardly he scowled; while using the body like this was handy, it was also rather sickening. But unfortunately, even he couldn't get out of this place with all that was on the list. Besides... It was an oddly pleasing thing, using another person's money to by things while not being chased for once. Though he probably wouldn't do this again... Being challenged was where all the fun was.

Still, he thought as the boy quickly nodded again and began leading him to the supplies, stealing AND putting people in debt; pure gold.

It took an hour and a half of walking in those painful heels before Bakura finally had everything. Handing the card over from the woman's purse, he briefly wondered how women of today could stand shoes like these. Not to mention clothes like these. The shirt this body was wearing was barely closed at the front with laces, and the skirt could barely be called that. Taking the card back as the fairly high sum of money was removed for the charges, he watched as a few other young (male) employees helped to load everything into a nearby truck.

"You sure this is your vehicle miss?" Of course it wasn't, Bakura mentally shouted, what kind of woman wearing these clothes drove a worn down truck?

Regardless, the facade held firm. "Of course... Thanks so much for helping me with these things. You've been a big help," the body drawled out. It wasn't likely that either of the employees had heard it though, as they were still staring at the breasts. Once Bakura stopped speaking however, they quickly left back into the store, going beet red.

He turned to the door, opening it as he rolled his eyes. Really, didn't people have the sense to lock their doors? As he considered how he was going to hot-wire the truck, a loud cackling bark was heard from behind. It was also accompanied by a loud and pained shout. "Ach! Not again!"

Bakura turned, raising an eyebrow as a vendor pulling a food cart began chasing after a clearly malnourished jackal. "Get back here you mutt!" The jackal pointedly ignored the vendor, instead making off with his food before skidding to a halt in front of a grinning woman.

"Now there you are..." Bakura smirked, an expression that was quite out of place on the woman's face. The jackal whined, unable to move as it dropped the food he was carrying and took a cautionary sniff. Its fur bristled, but his fear prevented it from growling. The woman smelled... Dead. Like a corpse, and like darkness itself. Another whine was given, before it was pulled into the truck by the scruff of its neck. "You're just in time- I was about to leave." Bakura's grin widened as he hopped in the truck, slamming the door shut and locking the whining animal in.

After a few minutes of fiddling with the wires, the truck started up with a loud hum, Bakura's grin remaining unchanged. He looked over at the jackal as he backed the vehicle out, his grin quickly becoming more threatening than before. "If you try anything at all, then so help me you'll be my next dinner." The jackal gave an audible gulp and another whine, somehow knowing that he meant it.

Keeping silent for the rest of the drive, it took about fifteen minutes more to return to Malik's home. Grabbing the jackal by the scruff again, Bakura stopped the engine and hopped out of the truck, before heading to the front door.

As the bell rang, Atem looked up from where he was sitting in the living room. "I'll get it Malik," he said as he got up, the blond looking up from his motorcycle magazine with a bored expression.

"Alright..." It was probably Bakura anyways really.

Atem opened the door, his smile vanishing as he raised an eyebrow. "...Mai?"

Oh was that who he was possessing, Bakura thought to himself as the jackal continued whining. Hiding a smirk, he decided to play along. Pulling a fairly seductive smirk, 'Mai' leaned forwards against Atem, letting 'her'self in before speaking. "Oh my Yugi... You've gotten so... 'big'..." Watching as the former pharaoh went beet red at those words, 'she' came closer. "How have you been these last few years?"

He swallowed, before looking at the jackal that the woman still gripped and then at the truck outside. "...Bakura," he said with a nervous and fairly exasperated tone. "Why did you pick a woman?"

Malik came over at that moment, looking at the two and connecting the dots before bursting into laughter. "Oh my... You possessed HER?"

The 'woman' merely looked amused, before turning to Atem. "Now really Pharaoh, how else did you expect me to get any of these chemicals? These," he said as he pointed to the breasts with his free hand, "Made things much easier, I assure you." He dragged the jackal forward, passing it to Atem.

The teen merely shook his head before the absolute absurdity of the situation finally hit, and he burst into a fit of laughter. The jackal hung slightly from his arms, looking around in confusion as Atem continued shaking his head. "Dear Ra... Ignoring the fact that you managed to find Mai in Eygpt of all places, I can't wait to see her expression when she comes back in control..."

Bakura smirked, crossing the body's arms. "Well then, why bother waiting?" He promtly flung himself out of the body, materializing near Malik as the teen continued to choke and hold his stomach. Atem, however, quickly stopped laughing as the now dizzy Mai stumbled and looked around disoriented.

"Ugh... What? The woman looked around, frowning as she stared at Atem. "Where am I..." Blinking a few times, her frown deepened. "Wait, Yugi..?" Malik continued to laugh as Atem hurriedly attempted to stop laughing.

Regaining his composure, the taller sighed, shaking his head. "No... You've confused me with someone else..." Though height and tans aside, he could see where the severely confused Mai was getting those thoughts. But really, his hair was even too long to stand up now, there was no reason to insist on it right?

Mai seemed to think so, as the woman crossed her arms. "Really? I don't know what's with the costume and tan hun, but I have to say, it was about time you grew up Yugi..." She gave a wink, smiling. "You look good... Though I have to question your choice in company..." She looked at Malik from the corner of her eye, the former tomb keeper scowling.

One could essentially see, and ignore, the clouds of gloom that were swimming around Atem's head at the moment. "I'm not Yugi..." Sighing, he attempted to hand the jackal over to Malik. "I need to get my things from the truck..."

The blond blinked, calming down almost instantly as he took the fairly submissive animal in his arms with a guilt-ed expression. Turning to Mai, he bit his lip. "I think you should wait in another room for a moment... We'll explain later, alright?" His voice was uncharacteristically quiet, a fact that Mai quickly picked up on. Nodding, the woman left to find somewhere else to sit, though not before giving the teen a rather skeptical glance.

He sighed as she left, watching as Atem came in with the large tank of water and one of the bags from the truck. "Oh..." He blinked, looking at Malik and Bakura. "Where did you send her?"

"Out," he said as he jerked his head. "Told her we'd explain everything later." He followed Atem to the room they'd cleared for the ritual, dropping the jackal down before leaving to grab everything else. As Atem pulled out the chalk and began marking the floor with hieroglyphs, he raised an eyebrow at what Bakura was doing to keep the jackal in the room.

Said jackal was currently huddled in the corner as Bakura's spirit grinned ominously at it- he soon stopped however, as Malik dropped the rest of the materials in the room. Atem turned from his mostly finished 'circle', getting up to grab the materials. "Thank you. ...Make sure no one comes near the room, understand?"

Malik nodded, ducking out of the room. "Right- Good luck, alright?" He looked over to Bakura, who gave a confident smirk in return. Smiling back (albeit more nervously it seemed), he closed the door.

"Alright then..." Atem carefully unwrapped each of the ingredients after finishing his circle, placing each part in a specific location. Walking over to the jackal and pulling it into the center, he looked over at Bakura's spirit. "I'll need you to stand at the very edge of the circle, on the eastern point." He gestured over to the proper side, the spirit nodding with still slightly narrowed eyes before doing so. Walking to the opposite side, Atem pulled out the 'soul release' card again before casting it upon himself.

Body collapsing to the ground, the bird shook himself a little before cracking his knuckles and beginning. Slowly, he knelt down, hands together in a folded position as his wings spread to surround the circle and Bakura in an almost protective cocoon. "Spirits," he began in Egyptian, eyes closed as a few thin tendrils of light filled the circle. "Gods and Goddesses of those who inhabit the Fields of Aaru, who guard the 21 gates of Duat, and who judge the souls of the living with the honored scales... We ask of you a favor."

Bakura listened carefully, remaining silent as Atem spoke. The bird's hands slowly came apart as the objects around the circle began to glow. It was dim at first, a pale, whitish hue that quickly intensified into a blinding glare. Beams of energy and light both shot from the glowing piles, striking the now howling jackal as it as well began to glow. The howling increased in volume, the light becoming so bright that the center of the circle was completely unseen. And then Bakura stopped listening.

Across from him, Atem's hands suddenly reached forwards, as if to grab something. Bakura choked, clutching his chest as he felt something, some part of him wrenched from his control. The spirit froze. Atem's fist began to clench, the jackal's cries cutting abruptly with a pathetic whine as he felt that part of his soul continue to snap. Finally, the bird's fist closed completely, and he pulled his arm back. From his soul, a string of color was pulled, tearing from the body as it was pulled into the center of the room.

The swirling 'mass' hovered at the center of the room, Atem's raised fist remaining stationary for a moment as the light in the middle began to clear. With a jerk, the bird brought his hand down, slamming into the ground as the Akh above plummeted into the center. A body became visible, limbs flung upwards by the force of entry. They spasm-ed, the light continuing to fade as the Akh attempted to solidify the 'bridge', before finally, it dimmed and stopped. In the center of the room, a healthy, nude copy of Bakura's body from the past lay prone and unconscious.

Bakura's soul itself, however, still stood on the other end, silent. Without the Akh, there was no will, even with a personality and a shadow. As it stood, Atem motioned to the center, his eyes still shut as his head remained bowed to the ground. "Bakura," he said, and the soul merely stared with recognition. "Move forwards, and with your left arm, touch the body's face."

The soul remained silent, but slowly moved forwards. It was a robotic gait, painfully emotionless with the loss of the ability to think. His hand reached out, face blank as he placed it on the body's face...

Immediately, Bakura's soul was absorbed into the body, whatever light still glowing on the body vanishing completely. Atem, his eyes still closed, stepped back into his own before turning his head away. "...Bakura?" He listened as the body in the room took a gasp of breath, breathing erratically a few moments before it calmed to a steady rate. "...How do you feel?"

He was silent for a moment, clenching and un-clenching his fists before grinning as he stood up. "How do I feel? This is the best I've felt in three millennia!"

"Ah, good." Bakura blinked, noting just now that the teen was currently facing away and slightly red. "I should get the clothes Malik and I found for you now though..."

Bakura laughed at the teen's reaction, crossing his arms. "Really," he said, "We're both men aren't we? Unless there's something that you never told your kingdom, Atem."

He blinked, sputtering slightly as he missed the use of his name. "Per-Perhaps so, but I still have some respect for people's privacy!" He quickly headed for the door, still a violent shade of red. "I'm getting your clothes!" With that, he left, Bakura still laughing before the white haired teen took a seat against the wall.

It took only a few moments; the clothes were tossed in, Atem coming in and shutting the door as he averted his eyes with a blush again. "We didn't know what sort of clothing you'd like... So we opted to alter a few of Rishid's to match your old ones."

The thief picked them up, studying the still black robes. They were certainly similar to his old ones in terms of style; he supposed that the colour was due to the lack of dye, or bleach however. "Hn, fine by me." He put the robes on, examining himself before smirking at Atem. "Not really my colour, but they'll do for now. And you can look by the way, I won't bite... Much."

Atem turned around, laughing exasperatingly at Bakura's sinister looking grin before shaking his head. "Haha... Well, in any case, I need to clean all this up," he said as he grabbed a sponge he'd left in the room. "You should probably let Malik know that you're ready now." The teen smiled, walking over to the far side of the room to scrub the chalk off the floor.

He did not do this for long however, as the silence that settled told him fairly quickly that Bakura was not leaving. He turned, blinking as he looked over at the thief. Bakura was currently leaning against the door, biting his lip with an oddly ponderous look in his eyes. Worry, as well, was evident, and rather than leaving he turned to face Atem with a frown.

"Bakura?" Atem stood, frowning slightly. "You aren't leaving..? I assumed you would want to let the others know." Others, of course, meaning Malik (possibly Ryou, though he doubted it but...). Getting no answer for the first few seconds, he returned to scrubbing, pausing when the thief finally did speak.

"...When Malik and I joined up, we became close." The former pharaoh raised an eyebrow, not turning as the thief continued. It was a little uncharacteristic, for the thief to be saying these things to him... But he listened nonetheless. "But as you know, a majority of my actions were controlled by Zorc at the time. You know, as does Ryou I would assume, that this means I am quite different from what most have gotten from me." He frowned, staring at the ground. "But what I don't know is how those perspectives will change. Particularly Malik's."

He stood up again, the sponge on the floor as he turned to Bakura with a somewhat blank expression on his face. It betrayed his surprise- was Bakura essentially asking him a question on relationships? But he decided to attempt to answer anyways. "If you'll take my opinion on this... I would say that it wouldn't change. If anything," he added with a smile. "I would say that he would be more than pleased now that it is only you, and not a you controlled by another being."

Bakura shrugged, grunting slightly before answering. "It's strange... I feel like there should be something there but I just feel..." Another shrug, before he uncrossed his arms and got off the wall. "Weird." He opened the door, walking out without a glance back at Atem. "See you in a bit, Atem."

"Hn?" As the door shut, the teen scratched his cheek, blinking a few times. "Did he just call me... By my name?" There was a ringing sound, and Atem turned to the phone in the room with a jolt. "Really, I'll never get all of this cleaned up..." He walked over to it, mentally telling himself that soon enough, things would be 'normal' again. Staring at the phone with a hand above it, he froze. What happened if it was someone he knew... The teen shook his head, grabbing it. His voice and Yugi's voice were two very different things. Besides, the chances of it being someone like Joey were- "Moshi Moshi, Ishtar residence." Wait, why would someone calling here that wasn't from Japan know Japanese. He tensed slightly as he realized his mistake, before holding back a surprised choke as the voice on the other end answered.

"Yo! 'S Joey! Who is this?" The familiar voice of Yugi's best friend came over the other end, a few other voices slightly audible in the background. Oh dear.. Oh dear dear dear...

"Ah... Housekeeping," he said, mentally kicking himself for lying to one of the people closest to his modern day counterpart. "Do you wish to speak with Malik?" With luck, Joey would be fooled- he didn't want anyone to realize just who he was quite yet. Mai would have to know of course, thanks to Bakura, but if he could just delay the storm that would be caused once Malik's involvement in the event was revealed...

There was a pause on the other end, and some muttering before Joey spoke. "Huh. Tha's weird, didn' know that Malik had a housekeepa' from J'pan. Ah well. Tell Malik that Joey an' the others are on their way over! We decided tah come before the exchange started! Twen'y, thirty minutes, all righ'?" With that, the accented teen hung up, Atem slowly replacing the phone with pale and shaking hands.

"A... A few minutes..?" There was only one thing to say in a situation such as this.

They were screwed.

* * *

**AN: **OH, poor poor Mai... If there is any confusion, don't be afraid to leave a comment/review to ask!

R&R


	6. Power

**Disclaimers: **Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi, and any other items mentioned in this belong to their respective owners. PFFFT, I'm not going to say "If it was mine etc." because honestly, if I DID own Yu-Gi-Oh, I'd probably ruin it with my fail.

* * *

"Ah, Yugi... Come in!" It hadn't been difficult to figure out which room Malik had chosen to explain things to Mai in. By the time he'd gotten there however, it appeared that she had been filled in only about Bakura however, given that she'd just called him 'Yugi' yet again.

The teen came into the room, collapsing on one of the two couches there with his head in his hands. Bakura looked up from where Malik was currently sitting on him, the blond's face wet with tears. Rubbing the teen's back with such care that the others had to stare briefly, the thief raised an eyebrow. "You look like someone just kicked your cat Pharaoh," he said, Atem noting that Mai held no confusion at the name. She knew then? But why call him Yugi?

Atem merely sighed, leaning back on the couch. "Earlier, when the phone rang... It was Joey. Apparently he and whoever else is with him will arrive in a few minutes..."

Beside him, Mai blinked, before frowning. Atem's current expression said quite clearly how much he was looking forwards to this, and Malik looked absolutely terrified until the teen he sat with whispered something in his ear. "That means him, Tea, and Serenity then." As Atem turned to ask what happened to Tristan, she shrugged. "Tristan joined the military a few months ago," the woman said with a wink. "You were quite distraught about it, Hun."

He blinked, before sighing again. So that was why; it was an attempt to keep anyone from finding out. But while Mai would be content with that, he wasn't. Not only because of the lie, but because of how bad a lie it was. Yugi had seen the others just a week before. While she knew of his reaction through conversations on the phone, she hadn't known what he looked like the week before. So while she could easily pretend that 'Yugi' had hit a growth spurt, and grown his hair out, the others likely wouldn't.

Bakura looked over at Atem. "Well now, we can explain this to everyone at once, can't we?" He smirked. "After all, I'm sure they'll want to know how the 'Pharaoh' is back from his grave..."

The teen answered with a half-hearted 'yes', eventually adding an 'I suppose so', before falling to the side on the couch. Rolling over slightly, he buried his face in the cushions, eventually falling asleep.

Mai got up, stretching as she watched Bakura pull a couch throw over a now sleeping Malik. "I'll watch the door for you boys..." She smiled, before heading out of the room. "Make sure that one," she said as she pointed at Atem, "Gets some shut-eye."

The thief looked over at the unmoving teen on the couch, smirking. "As you wish, though I can't guarantee how long it will be..." Mai chose not to answer that as she shut the door behind her.

It did not, as Joey had said, take long before the doorbell rang. As the bell pealed through the house, Atem sunk further and further into the cushion, dreading the inevitable as the doorbell stopped. There was silence, before a collective off footsteps came towards the room. As Malik stirred, Bakura pulled the teen closer to him and the corner he sat in on the couch. As the others entered, very few actually took advantage of this space however; while Serenity eventually took a seat beside the pair, Tea and Joey both seemed to be looking at the thief with silent horror.

Letting the others chat amongst themselves (Bakura sending a glare to match the one Joey sent towards him), Mai gently shook Atem's shoulder. "Come on hun... They're here." Receiving no response, Mai sighed, turning to the others with a shrug.

Bakura sat up, a now awake Malik relinquishing his grip on the thief as he sat up as well. "Please," he said with dark humor, "Allow me..." Grabbing the remote off the coffee table in the room, he pegged it at the teen without even sparing the target a glance.

"Ach!" He jumped up, a few of the others in the room sniggering as he gave an odd, yawning groan. Those who recognized him so to speak stared. It was quite evident how tall he was, even as the teen remained seated to rub the back of his now bruising head. Eyes still shut, the teen quickly froze. "...Ah..." He turned, blinking as the others stared back, confused and likely curious. "Hello, everyone..." It was like watching Yugi on the first day of school all over, he told himself. Except this time, the situation was far worse, and there was no washroom or soul room to hide in.

As it was, he decided as Joey took a step forwards, it would likely have made things worse if there was. "Y...Yami?"

Atem nodded slowly, his head mostly averted from the others awkwardly. As Tea appeared to grin at the prospect of him coming back however, the woman froze. "But... Shouldn't you be dead..?" She shook her head, confused. "I mean... You went back to your own time, didn't you?"

He tensed, before nodding again. "That is... Correct. Though I go by Atem now..." As he said this, Malik appeared to grow pale, wrapping his arms around himself as Bakura pulled him close. The grip seemed protective, and almost objectifying, as though the one holding the blond had not held anything other than rare treasures for a majority of his life. As the others ignored the growing guilt emanating from Malik (Mai standing between the pair and the newcomers with her arms behind her back), Tea frowned.

"Then what happened?"

"And just out of curiosity, who is he..?" The others turned to Serenity, who was gesturing over to Bakura curiously.

The thief scoffed, before smirking. "Really, 'Atem', I'd assumed you'd be bragging about my defeat for until you moved on..."

The others tensed, and Joey clenched his fists. "Bakura..." He was held back by Mai however, who shook her head. "Nyeh? What're yah do-"

"Come on Hun- now isn't the time, alright." The serious look in her eyes strengthened those words, and although he was hesitant, Joey nodded and stepped back.

Atem, however, had just gotten enough of a breath to explain what had happened. "There was an... Accident," he finally said, as the others turned to him. Even Bakura's eyes widened slightly, as Malik tensed and turned away with a bitten tongue. The teen could almost hear the thoughts of the others as he said this... 'No', they were saying, quietly, nervously. 'No, you can't say that'. "During a ritual he was present for, something went wrong..." Tea was already about to cry, and Joey looked as though he would punch the first thing that spoke to him. On the couch, Mai was no taking a seat and comforting Serenity, who had already guessed just what was going on. Atem gritted his teeth, head turned to the floor as he continued. "And Yugi... He was there..."

His fists clenched, and he fought off the wave of rage and hurt that was threatening to overcome him, threatening to come out as it had almost done in the ritual room itself. Snapping at the bars of the soul's cage, screeching in pain and anger as it cried for the blood of the one who had done this. These things, these terrible things, so easily held back by the shock and disbelief of a situation- he pushed back that feeling, as the mental cries he envisioned pounded against his skull. 'NO!', they screamed, 'NO! This didn't happen! It couldn't happen!'. "...Yugi... Yugi didn't make it..."

Mai pulled Serenity close into a hug, Bakura doing the same to Malik; both were meant to comfort, but both were visually and intentionally different in their reasoning. As Tea finally let loose the tears she'd been holding back with a cry, Joey gritted his teeth. "Who did it," he forced out as he walked over to Atem. "WHO KILLED HIM!" His fist slammed into the coffee table, a wide and sick sounding crack emitted through the wood.

The teen pulled back slightly, still not looking up. "He was killed in an act of 'equivalent exchange', a 'life for a life' deal that nearly killed everyone in the room." The feelings were returning, and he shoved them back with a hatred for his own self. He could have thrown the spell off, forced it to cancel and nothing would have happened. He ignored the fact that it had completely caught him off guard, ignored the fact that Yugi would have still died due to the presures of the ritual. It was his fault, he told himself, not Malik's, and certainly not Ryou's. "For something to be created," he continued, not caring what kind of damage would be dealt to him there, "Another thing must be lost, and then some... Tax, if you will..." He took a shuddering breath, as his head was thrown upwards by the force Joey was using to shake his shoulders.

"Who did it! Someone else w's there! WHO DID IT!" As Joey continued shouting, Atem's eyes looked past the teen at Bakura and Malik. The thief quickly understood, narrowing his eyes before leaving the room with Malik.

Atem turned his head back down, breathing slightly labored as the shaking stopped. Tears were visibly streaming from his eyes as he swallowed, dry throat rasping as his friend let go. "Those who did it are not to blame for this, Joey." His breathing was hitched, shaking as he continued, the others in the room putting two and two together after Malik and Bakura both disappeared. "Not only were they unaware of the consequences, having suffered themselves, they were blinded by their grief." The tears continued to fall, staining the couch they fell. "They only did what you would have done for the sake of an old friend."

Before Joey could speak, having noticed that Malik was no gone, Atem continued, holding his head in his hands as he seemingly spoke on 'autopilot'. "If you wish to hunt them down for what they've done... Then be the first person to do that to me, in their place. But I will not allow another person to die when it will do nothing.

Mai turned with wide eyes as Atem said this, Serenity's face buried in her shoulder. "Wait, Joey-" Tea as well paled, her sobbing cut short as they watched the blond stand their for a moment. The teen was too quiet now, standing there with clenched fists... "Joey, hold on," the woman said as she stood, watching the teen pull Atem up by the front of his shirt. "Joey!"

A loud, echoing crack rang through the room again, Joey holding his fist frozen past Atem's face and watching as it turned back to face him slowly. He shook, staring at the broken man before him, at the blood that now dripped from Atem's bleeding lip and cheek. At the tear lines and kohl markings that were soaked in water from his tears, seemingly highlighted by the droplets. Atem's cheek burned terribly, but he did nothing, his eyes as blank and frozen as they'd been while he spoke. Staring ahead, unmoving as they watched the teen that trembled with rage before him. The teen who, like him, had tears dotting his eyes.

He dropped the teen, collapsing to his knees as Atem's face fell forwards. As Joey cried, loudly, painfully and so unlike himself that it wasn't at all out of place, Atem's shaking voice came out again, barely louder than a whisper. "Forgive me..." Joey didn't respond, his own head turned to the floor as he trembled at the loss of his best, and closest friend. "Please forgive me for what I've done..." It took all he could, to keep from simply fleeing his body right there. From taking off for the sky, to calm himself of the flurry of emotions that were finally spiraling out of control. "I'm so sorry, Jonouchi-kun." There was a subtle response from Joey with the use of his Japanese name. It was a response that told him things would, eventually, heal. He didn't know how, he didn't know when. But they would heal.

"It was... It was Malik, wasn't it?" Atem looked up, eyes wide and his mouth hanging open slightly as he and the other women in the room turned to Serenity. Joey continued to stare silently at the floor, fists clenched as the veins in his skin became more and more visible against his now pale skin. He remained silent at the girl's partial statement, swallowing. He had a bad feeling about what would happen if Malik was out-ed as the one who had started the ritual... If he didn't speak before it was too late, there was likely to be blood spilled.

Mai looked around the room nervously, before hurriedly changing the subject. "Joey, you said that guy with Malik was Bakura right?" She didn't wait for an answer, continuing anyways. "I thought Bakura was that quiet, pale boy, not some tanned young man..." The woman gave a partially seductive smirk, watching as both Joey and Atem turned to look at her.

"Well... Ryou is still Ryou..." The teen coughed, sitting up straight as he attempted to regain his voice, watching as Joey also moved to take a seat on the couch. As the others followed suit, they turned to him, waiting for his answer. "'Bakura' is the soul of the one that Zorc used to manipulate Ryou from the millennium ring... Recently, Ryou, Malik, and myself freed him from the Shadow Realm..." He trailed off, inwardly wincing. He didn't really know how deep bad blood would go in this case; while Bakura might not have almost killed anyone directly, the fact was that having their souls removed from their bodies was also fairly intense.

Blinking from her position between Serenity and Mai, Tea stared at Atem with a confused expression on her face. "So does that mean... He's not evil anymore?"

Serenity also asked a question, meekly raising her hand slightly before speaking. "Sorry... But if Bakura came from Ryou, then why does he look so much darker..?"

Atem blinked, smiling slightly as he answered the questions. The change in subject was more than welcoming; he was still fighting off the negativity of the last conversation. "Ah... To answer your question Serenity," he said with a slightly nervous laugh. 'Not evil' indeed... He decided not to answer that question really. "The reason why 'Bakura' was so pale was because it was not his body. Ryou is pale, and as he was possessing his body at the time, their appearances matched. Bakura's body however, is completely his, and therefore matches his original appearance."

The girl blinked, smiling lightly and nodding. "Ah... I see."

As the room began to fall silent again, he was pulled from his now drifting thoughts by Joey. "How... How was this all an' accident, I mean..." He bit back a shout, fists still clenching slightly as he turned to Atem. "How could Malik... 'Accidentally' kill..." He couldn't finish the sentence, having more than enough trouble with the knowledge of the death in itself, a feeling that Atem was aware of all too well.

He remained silent momentarily, biting his lip before continuing. "The ritual to bring a person to life requires three people; theoretically, the life energies of all three is divided equally to bring another to life without drawbacks." He chose not to say that the third person was killed before the ritual finished to provide a body. The others had enough to deal with as it was. "While the process nearly killed Malik, Yugi himself was not so lucky." The teen sighed, unconsciously rubbing his arm as he spoke. All this stress, this misery... It was too much, far too much for a soul that was meant for flight, a soul meant to be carefree and relaxed once the battle was over. "Malik himself," he continued, "Is still distraught over the event. He might seem fine to you, but inside he is grieving just as much, if not more than us, due to the guilt of it all. The teen stared at the ground, before blinking as a hand rested on his shoulder. Atem looked up as Tea sat beside him, Serenity and Mai also standing nearby.

"We..." Tea choked, tears still in her eyes as she wrapped an arm around him. "We're all here for you, ok, Atem?" She smiled, before pulling back to stand up and offer him a hand. "We'll deal with this together, alright?"

"You..." He blinked, eyes wide with slight shock before he took the hand and stood up. Why... How was it that they were so quick to forgive, so quick to move on? This friendship that he had felt through Yugi's body and soul, how did it spread so deep that they were willing to forgive those involved in the boy's death completely? He looked at the faces of the others, watching as Joey stood up and wiped his eyes as well. He wasn't their 'Yami' anymore. He certainly couldn't be their Yugi. And yet these people who he had known only just slightly... Yes, he expected it from Tea he admitted. But from all the others...

As he looked at Joey, he watched the blond break into an uneasy, but nonetheless sincere smile. "Yea... Tea's right. All for one, an' one for all, yah know?" The others nodded, Mai standing at the side before Atem found himself pulled awkwardly into an enormous group hug.

"Gn!" Shocked at first, he found himself smiling in the end. It was good to be back, so to speak. Even with people missing, even when there was now a hole in their hearts that could never be filled, the warmth that radiated from the others was welcomed. He had to wonder, mentally, just how odd this hug looked however. Half slouched on his shins, his arms had been pulled over someone else's shoulders while his head was thrown rather tightly between those same shoulders.

There was a knock from the door, and they pulled out, watching as Mai walked over to answer it. Opening it wide, she stood back as Bakura walked in, carrying Malik on his back. "Ah, Bakura..."

He was cut off as the thief let Malik down, the pair taking a seat on the couch. The thief did not, however, relax in any way, occasionally whispering to Malik in Egyptian as he watched the others in the room with narrowed eyes. Malik, in the meantime, seemed considerably less like his usual self as he leaned into the thief King's arms, shaking slightly as he sent nervous glances around the room. Finally, he looked over at Atem. "...Can you..." He continued speaking in Egyptian, the others frowning and listening in curiously. "Can you tell them I'm sorry..?" He swallowed, turning away. "I don't think they'd believe me, if I told them myself."

His response was in Japanese, and he looked directly at Malik rather than glancing at those behind him. Ignoring whatever comments might come from them, he shook his head. "I already told them... They forgive you, Malik." As he said this, Bakura continued to stare at the others, his eyes focused on the still slightly tensed Joey. True, they were in front of Atem, who could probably stop the blond from attacking Malik easily. But one could never be to sure, he told himself, so he kept himself prepared.

Deciding to change the subject to happier things, Atem turned to look at the others again. "So... What exactly are you four doing in Eygpt?"

"Ah," Serenity blinked, answering for the others with a soft smile. "Nii-san, Tea, and myself signed up for an exchange program here. Tristan signed up as well, but was unable to come due to summer activities involved with the military."

Tea continued where Serenity left off. "We agreed to come early to see Yu-" She paled, becoming silent. It was hard... Realizing that Yugi was gone forever rather than just not there.

Walking over as the girl stopped talking, Mai decided to finish for her. "I had decided to come here for a possible entry into Cairo's duel monster tournament; when I heard that the others would be coming as well, I decided to drop by with them."

Joey grinned, nodding. "Heh, yea! That way we're all..." The grin faded just as quickly as it had come, before he finished the sentence off. "...T'gether..." As the group grew silent, Tea coughed, attempting to change the subject.

"So... Atem... What happened to your hair, it looks really different..." The others turned, Joey nodding in agreement as he added a 'i's not goin' up anymore!' to the question.

From the couch, Bakura smirked, answering before Atem could. "His gravity defiant hair was forced to obey the laws of physics in the afterlife." Malik snerked at the joke, while the subject of the conversation merely crossed his arms with a frown.

"I'm fairly certain that it would have gone back 'up' when I came back if that were the case, Bakura. And if you must know, the journey to the Fields of Aaru, essentially heaven, involves a fairly long and arduous journey by sea." He turned to look at the others before continuing, having a feeling that those on the couch already knew what he was talking about. "Specifically, I was required to pass through 21 gates, each one 21 leagues apart, with each gate bearing a challenge of sorts. Generally a battle of sorts." Well, Malik thought mentally, at least that explained how the bird had fought so well against the 'chimera' in the Shadow Realm. He listened as Atem continued on yet again. "In any case... By the time I made it to the fields, my hair had grown out. I had become fairly attached to it, so I decided not to cut it in the end."

They blinked, before Serenity looked up at Atem's face and asked another question. "Ano... What about the lines..?" Atem blinked, before the girl made two 'tear' motions on her face. "The tear lines; where did those come from?"

Malik looked over at Bakura expectantly, Atem looking at the thief with narrowed eyes in the corner of his sight. The thief king shrugged, before crossing his arm. "I have no snide remark for those; learn to be creative."

The blond Egyptian frowned, crossing his arms. "Tch, I'm creative! I just can't think of anything!"

Atem sighed, before turning back to the others and shrugging. Joey, of course, did not expect this. "Whaaaaaat? Whad'ya mean you don' know? They weren' there last time we saw yah!"

There was another shrug, and the teen began scratching his cheek in what had apparently become a bad habit of his, the fingernail following the side of his tear line. "Quite honestly, I've looked like this since I moved on into the Afterlife... I can only assume this is what my Ka always appeared as."

The others looked at each other in awkward silence, before turning back to him. "Even the height," asked Tea nervously, still confused about having to look up slightly to meet the teen's eyes.

"Yea man, you must be as tall as Kaiba!" Atem laughed embarrassingly at Joey's last comment. Something told him that if that was the case, meeting with Kaiba would prove very... Interesting. Nonetheless, he couldn't come up with a solid answer for that. He assumed that it had to do with the height of his Ka of course (as when his body was completely that of a bird, he was this exact height), but either way. On the bright side, he added mentally, they hadn't made a comment on the thick kohl-like shadows around his eyes... Though they probably assumed those were created with makeup.

The group turned however, as Bakura smirked. "Perhaps," he said with a menacing and eerily familiar chuckle, "The pharaoh's testicles finally dropped and he hit puberty."

Needless to say, the comment successfully got a rise out of the teen; in fact, if one looked closely, the could see his soul-form's feathers bristle and rise up. As it was, his hair was already doing something similar, and Atem was beet red. "Excuse me!"

"Hey! That was uncalled for Bakura!" Joey glared as Tea joined in, hands on her hips.

"Yea, what was with that comment?" The thief merely laughed loudly at the reactions he got, grinning as Malik snickered as well.

He eventually calmed himself down, shrugging. "Well, that's my theory at least. Called for or not, I can bet that it's true..."

As the thief continued grinning, Atem narrowed his eyes. "Trust me Bakura, I can guarantee that it is not that." Crossing his arms, he looked at the others from the corner of his eyes. "And if I were you, I wouldn't react so strongly... If anything, you're encouraging him even more..."

"Nyeh, but... But he j's said... Aw what th' heck." Joey sighed, appearing to admit a temporary defeat as Tea rubbed her head in the same action. Bakura in the meantime, continued laughing again, increasing his volume before shaking his head.

"Really, your faces... Absolutely priceless." He smirked, looking over at the former pharaoh with a raised eyebrow. "I must say though, 'Atem'. You know far more about me than I gave you credit for."

While the others stared at the thief after realizing he'd used the teen's actual name, Atem himself merely shrugged with a small smile. "I doubt so actually... I don't know much really. All I can do is make a few guesses given the right evidence." As he smiled, he had to admit that he rather liked this side of Bakura. Though it likely had to do with the fact that the thief was no longer bent on killing him really... As he smiled however, Malik leaned over to whisper something in Bakura's ear. The thief blinked, turning to Atem for a moment... And then promptly shook with a loud and almost barking laugh once again. Atem sighed, putting a hand on his forehead. "What now..."

The laughter continued, and briefly, the teen wondered if it was some odd inside joke that the pair had made. The others were certainly clueless enough, and as he held his head, he watched as Bakura stopped whispering and spoke out loud instead. "Hnhnhn... You're most likely right about that Malik... Or maybe he's just..." He turned to Malik, the pair blinking in silence before the thief finished the sentence. "Gay?" They started laughing once again, as Atem proceeded to respond with a face-palm. "Hahhh..." As the teen sighed and rubbed his forehead, he shook his head. So much for enjoying that side... He turned to look at the others, most of whom were holding back a particularly murderous looking Joey.

"Oh," Bakura said as he looked over at Joey. "What was that..? I didn't quite hear you," he said with a grin.

Joey growled, attempting to break free of the girl's fairly solid hold on his arms. "AH SAID THA- MMPH!" He turned to Tea, glaring as the girl held a hand firmly over his mouth.

"You SAID nothing! Honestly, all you're doing is giving them a good laugh!" She scowled, before nodding over to Atem. "You don't see Atem shouting do you? No! Only you! Stop acting like such a kid Joey!" Releasing the teen, she and Serenity watched as he folded his arms over each other and muttered something about unpacking his things. Mai as well left the room, though it was likely to calm the blond down rather than unpack a bunch of bags. Particularly since she was staying at a nearby hotel. Before they left however, Malik decided to build on the already tense/humorous situation.

"Maybe," he said as he gained a falsely ponderous expression, "It was with the mutt..." He smirked, and Bakura looked at Joey and Atem with a grin.

"WHY I OUGHTA-" Joey's shouts were quickly blocked out by the door as Tea, Serenity, and Mai all pushed him out of the room, following after to make sure he didn't do anything stupid... Such as attempt to com back in.

"Joey, go sit with Mai and have a nice long talk or something..."

"What she said, Nii-san..."

As they left, Bakura continued smirking before turning with a grin to Atem. The teen was currently rubbing his head, a figurative 'tic' growing as the chaos ensued and (at this point) ended. Though Joey was now outside to calm down, he had a feeling that Bakura had a few more aces up his sleeve in terms of getting a rise.

He was right. Watching as Bakura simply stared at him with the smug smirk on his face, Atem eventually stopped rubbing his head and began heading for the door. "I think it would be best to head to bed now. It's getting late after all." The other two shrugged- it beat sitting down there all night- before following behind the teen and chuckling silently as Atem let the tips of his wings drift out of the body. As though responding to that, he rolled his shoulders a bit before continuing to let the wing tips 'hang'; he knew that living with them 'inside' would be something he needed to get used to but... Well, quite honestly, it was uncomfortable enough with all the skin-tight leather he was wearing.

"You know," Bakura said as they walked down the hall, smirking. "They're going to find out sooner or later, so why not go outside and show them 'Pharaoh'?" The four ahead in the next room blinked, ducking into the hall as Atem hurriedly retracted the wings.

Malik grinned, catching on to what his partner was doing. "Yea," he said as the other four began coming towards them. "You're a pretty magnificent looking chicken if I say so myself~"

The teen tensed, hair bristling again as the others, for the most part, raised their eyebrows in confusion. "I am not a chicken!" He went red as he said this, the other two simply laughing.

"Fine," the blond said with a grin. "A peacock."

Bakura continued chuckling, watching as Atem clenched his fists. From what he could tell, the teen was likely gritting his teeth too, though he appeared to be letting the comment slide. It did look rather similar in terms of body colour after all. "Well Pharaoh," he said as the others listened intently, "Are you going to tell them or not?"

He bit his cheek, before turning to head up the stairs. "No!" Behind him, the others groaned.

"Awww, C'mon Atem! We wanna see!" Joey was quickly elbowed for being rude, though it was plainly obvious that nothing he had said was at all far from the truth. The teen sighed, pausing on the stairs before tensing. Bakura was speaking again.

"Well now," he said with a sarcastic drawl, "That's not fair is it? You showed us, but not your closest friends?" He grinned slyly, an action oddly similar to his jackal counterpart. "Really.. I'd expect better from the former 'Nameless Pharaoh'."

By this point, it was fairly plain to see that a majority of Atem's hair was at least attempting to stand straight, and he gripped the banister on the stairs tightly to keep from simply sandwiching the thief in his wings. "I didn't exactly have a choice at the time," he finally bit out.

This time, Malik decided to counter the statement, grinning as he watched the figurative tics appear around Atem's head. "But you wouldn't be that rude to your friends now would you?"

His nails dug into the banister wood, still red. "I stand by my decision!"

At the bottom of the stairs, the others frowned. "Awww..." Tea sighed, coming up a few of the stairs to approach Atem. "What kind of thing is it that you don't want to show us Atem?"

"Well," Malik began, before he was cut off by the one on the stairs.

"FINE!" The shout made most of the others jump slightly, blinking as he continued. "I'll tell them... But I would prefer to do it my way than yours." Ra give him at least that; all this 'chicken' talk on top of the earlier revealing of Yugi's demise was weighing on him all too much. Anything more, and he'd probably snap. He held back a shudder as the thought entered his mind, focusing on Tea's smile as the woman moved past to head upstairs.

Following behind, Malik merely shrugged. "Alright, alright... If it's anything like what I think you're getting at, then I know where to bring you." He moved past the others, and led them towards a third staircase.

Serenity blinked. "I thought the building had two floors..." A voice from behind interrupted her, almost as quiet as hers.

"It does... But I think that these stairs lead to the roof.. Right?" The others turned as Ryou appeared behind them, yawning slightly before finding himself in a semi-headlock on Bakura's part. "A-Ah..!"

He flinched as the thief mussed his hair in a noogie, before quickly releasing the boy and crossing his arms with a laugh. "Consider that my last payment for rent, 'Landlord'." He smirked, Ryou blinking at the use of the old name he'd had when Bakura was sealed in the ring. "I have to say, at the rate you were going, I'd have thought you would sleep through the entire night."

"I wasn't that tired..." The small conversation was cut short as the others turned to stare, before turning back to the staircase with mutterings of 'weird', 'they really are two people now'.

Malik opened the door to the roof, stepping aside to allow everyone on. As the group crowded in the center, confused for the most part, they watched Atem walk over to the edge of the roof with Ryou. Atem turned to the boy, smiling. "I leave my body in your hands," he said as he bowed his head, the albino nodding curtly. With that, he turned to face the others and held a card towards him. "Iw, SOUL RELEASE!"

Familiar tendrils of light escaped, creating an incredibly beautiful effect against the night sky. Waves of light that rivaled the Northern Lights in appearance wrapped around the teen's body, but rather than pulling, they pushed at his soul and forced it out of the body. The body collapsed, Ryou catching it awkwardly as Bakura and Malik came over to help lay it on the ground before looking up. Atem's soul soared upwards into the sky, rising a good ten feet above the roof before spreading his wings to hover in place. Pulling his arms out, he looked down at the others, tail feathers fanning below him in an iridescent wave of faded color.

The four who hadn't seen his form before gasped at the sight, each one bearing a different response. Serenity was the first to speak, her eyes wide with wonder as she stared at Atem's feathers. She watched as they melted into the night sky almost seamlessly, only disturbed by the occasional flap of wings. "It's... It's so beautiful," she finally said, while Mai merely stared, silent before muttering 'it does kind of look like a chicken hun..' under her breath.

Joey in the meantime literally jumped in shock, almost tempted to yell 'ghost' and run the hell out of there. However, there were two major things keeping him there. For the first part, he was, like the others, fairly awestruck at the sight of an enormous bird-like version of his friend floating in the sky. It was one of those things that a person couldn't help but stare at. For another though, this was his friend. His best pal (Kinda. Yugi had that role...), the 'other Yug'. He eventually opted for muttering a seemingly unintelligent 'woahhhhh...', while Tea as well shook her head, almost hesitant to repeat the statement.

Unfortunately however, Atem had somehow head Mai's comment on resembling a chicken, and his words quickly snapped the crowd out of their awestruck stare. "I. AM. NOT. A. CHICKEN!" The bird's shout was groundbreaking, but while it was enough to make them flinch, it wasn't enough to stop the laughter that resulted when he continued into a semi-enraged rant. "NOR AM I ANY OTHER FORM OF FOWL! It's called a BA! A BA!" He crossed his arms, annoyance clearly visible across his face as the bird continued. "Honestly! What you're doing is almost as bad as comparing the Winged Dragon of Ra to a turkey!" His feathers bristled, face completely red with rage and embarrassment as Bakura and Malik began laughing uncontrollably.

As the others looked to each other nervously- Atem sounded... Almost murderous really- the bird pointed down at Bakura with gritted teeth. "Oh, and your Ka is so much better? At least I have HANDS!" The nervousness quickly faded as a shouting match began, Joey staring with raised eyebrows while the girls began to shake with silent laughter.

Bakura, on the other hand, simply grinned. "Pfff! And why should I care about hands Atem? I'm a being that represents the God Anubis! And you? You're something I could get from Colonel Sanders!" Ryou shook his head in his hands, resisting the urge to laugh himself; he should never have taken the ring into a fast food place, never never never never... Malik in the meantime, laughed even harder, clutching the side of the railing on the roof to keep from falling over.

"Well... I represent life as it is," he spouted back, the match continuing to escalate. As the others laughed loudly at the image, Joey had to face-palm; now who was adding fuel to Bakura's insulting fire?

Malik and Bakura appeared to be ignoring him for the moment, talking about chicken. "Or maybe barbecued," Bakura was saying with a distant look in his eyes. "Yea... That would taste MUCH better." He chuckled as Malik moved his hands from the railing to his stomach, tears in his eyes as the group continued laughing. Ahhh food humor. Always the best.

"I AM NOT A CHICKEN! GET OVER HERE BAKURA!" The bird lunged, hawk style, though the thief easily stepped to the side to avoid him. "And at least I didn't spend the first half of my afterlife speaking like the Cheshire Cat!" As he swooped back into the air, Joey blinked, confused as he turned to look at Bakura.

"Oii... Seriously Bakura? The Cheshire Cat?" At the image that appeared in his mind, he abruptly burst into laughter, the others soon following suit. Particularly after Malik appeared as 'Alice' in his mind. Though that was likely only him.

Meanwhile, Atem had taken another swipe at Bakura, only for the thief to dodge yet again with a laugh. "At least I didn't have a pole up my ass for 3000 years, 'Pharaoh'!" As the match continued, Ryou frowned, his silent laughter cut short. This conversation, he realized as a chillingly cold feeling entered him, was heading in a very, very dangerous direction...

"Bakura..." He paled, head shaking slightly as he shouted to the thief. "Bakura! You need to stop! Now!"

"I did NOT... ARRRGGG!" The former pharaoh screeched, the crowd below tensing as the laughter halted almost instantly. It was a feral cry, rage filled and the sound of pain that had clearly built up over time. "You know Bakura, at least my Shadow Games had some ironic justice to them," he shouted, ignoring the now slightly sick faces the crowd was gaining at the mention of the games. "All you did was seal souls in little figurines? Are you a toy collector, Bakura?"

The thief ignored Ryou's pleas, even as Malik joined in as well. "Hah," he spat out as Malik and Ryou quickly attempted to herd the others downstairs. "Is that the best you can do? At least I didn't simply sit around as someone MURDERED an entire CITY!"

Ryou and Malik quickly grew pale once Bakura said that, turning to the sky as it began to darken past the point of a normal, Egyptian evening. They swallowed, watching in horror as Bakura's reaction came out in the form of two things.

The first was an inhuman screech, which almost completely masked what the bird was actually saying.

And the second was an attack that, unlike the grasping strikes made before, was clearly created with the intent to kill.

* * *

**AN: **Usagi-Squeared is a sucker for cliff-hangers, can you tell? OTL. When she was writing these from our roleplay, (even though I knew what was going to happen) I was always like " WHEN YOU GOING TO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER? OAO" She did/is doing such an amazing job *heart*

R&R!


	7. Poisoned

**Disclaimers: **Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi, and any other items mentioned in this belong to their respective owners.

* * *

As the others filed into the hall downstairs, Ryou couldn't help but wonder what had happened. One moment it was a standard shouting match, nothing 'bad'. Granted, he thought with an inner wince, Atem hadn't really been enjoying the verbal battle to begin with. But with the mention of Kul Elna, a place that Bakura had said Atem didn't even know about, things had become much more grave.

Or had it begun with the mention of the three thousand year silence Yugi had broken? Yugi, who was now dead, and if conversations behind him were any sign, that topic had only just been distracted for the moment. The teen bit his lip, taking a seat on the stairs as he waited for Malik to come down, so that Bakura could calm the bird down.

'KEEEEEER!' He winced, the others turning to face the door with a jump as another freakishly animal sound pierced the sky, followed by the sounds of thunder. Please hurry, he thought, as he bit his lip and watched the others stare at the door with horrified expressions. Please, please hurry.

Back outside, Malik tensed as Atem's now feral cry rang about the roof, only to look at the bird with rage as he realized what he'd just said. "I WAS THREE," he had shouted, in an an angry and somewhat pathetic tone. The bird's face resembled less of the calm and justified pharaoh who left the world of the living and more of the crazed, vengeful spirit of the millennium puzzle that appeared the instant it was complete. "AND YOU KNOW THAT THAT WAS MY UNCLE!" There was a screech as talons set to draw blood scratched the top of the roof, narrowly missing Bakura himself. Sparks flew from the gouges left behind, and the bird quickly returned to the sky to prepare another round.

Bakura's expression changed to match Atem's, grinding his teeth as he prepared to make another response. However, as another voice called out, his expression faded to that of shock and surprise, the teen looking at Malik in confusion and worry.

"You could have at least done something," Malik was shouting, hand clutching the handle of the door while he turned to face Atem. "You probably knew full well what happened! And yet you probably grew up and pushed it aside instead!"

Beside the blond, Bakura's expression changed quickly as he remembered his words to Ryou. How long ago was it... He'd caught the teen in his soul room, asking about Diabound, and the cracked tablet depicting people walking to their deaths in a molten furnace... Turning to face Atem again, Bakura's expression was that of mixed horror and worry this time. He was dead- he'd 'live' an attack from Atem so to speak. But Malik was not, and he'd drawn the bird's attention. As he put himself between Atem and Malik, holding his arms to the sides protectively. That's right; Atem was actually younger than him. And if what he got from the 'Millennium Game' was right, the pharaoh and even the father of the pharaoh never knew of Kul Elna. Not until it was far too late.

He watched, eyes growing wide as he realized what Atem's statement of 'Life itself' meant. The skies were even responding to his rage, clouds converging above the bird to block out every star in the sky. Thunder clapped in the distance, and Bakura tensed. So when he said 'Life itself' he meant the skies did he?

"I DIDN'T KNOW," the bird cried, voice a mix of rage and mourning as the two below frowned for their own reasons. "I NEVER KNEW, UNTIL MY DEATH, UNTIL THE DAY THAT I FINALLY REACHED THE FIELDS! AND BY THEN IT WAS TOO LATE! AHKENADEN IS RECEIVING HIS DUES IN AMMIT'S STOMACH," he added with a screech, tone quickly becoming more infuriated and accusing. "SO DON'T EVEN THINK, THAT I HAD A CLUE AS TO WHAT OCCURRED THAT DAY!"

Before Malik could respond, the boy caught a glimpse of his partner's face, the thief wrenching the door open and throwing him inside. "Stay down there," he told him, his voice laced with a well hidden worry for the blond and disgust for the former pharaoh's current rage. "And don't come out until I return with him." The door shut, and as Malik stared at the door, Bakura's expression and Atem's cries burned into his head, he frowned.

Who was that? Who was that 'thing', that creature with Atem's face? Screeching and crying with the voice of a bird, a falcon, with a feral rage that couldn't possibly be human. The teen stood there, frozen, listening as chaos erupted outside.

Bakura was smirking up at the bird grimly, eyes shadowed as he took a loose fighting stance should Atem strike again. As the clouds continued to converge and swirl above, thunder became louder and louder and lightening even flashed in the background as rain began to pour. Weather channel would have a field day, wouldn't it? It was rare enough for rain to occur in Cairo after all, he thought as he watched Atem seethe in the sky. "So you know of Ahkenadin then..."

The hatred was evident. The detest, the utter loathing that seeped from the bird. For what his uncle had done, what the man had become. For the pain that Atem, as a young child, had watched his father succumb to once the truth had come out. A pain that he had never known the source of, but all the same, he knew... Because it was after his father had offered up his very soul to pay for their deaths that it had happened. It was after that, when his father had taken the sins of some unseen other that he'd been forced to watch the man fade away into the grave.

As his wings flapped in agitation, arms locked back beneath his feathers, a small scrap of logic that was still functioning attempted to pull him to reality. 'Please,' it said, 'Malik didn't know, and Bakura never accused you directly. So please, please stop.' But he did not stop. The words had cut deep, gouging the wounds that existed from Yugi's death, the still fresh gashes that had barely begun to heal. And as all injured 'animals' did in such a situation, he was poised to attack at any moment.

Such as now. "DON'T EVEN SAY HIS NAME, THIEF!" 'Name calling,' his logic said, with a quiet whispering voice. 'That's not very nice.' He ignored it, finally breaking the dam that held his pent up rage and depression from the past week. "NOT EVEN... A WHISPER!" He screeched again, but the sound that escaped his throat was so twisted that it could hardly be called human OR avian. His feathers and hairs were raised threateningly, and the bird's eyes had grown dark. Bakura gritted his teeth as the sound of what was essentially an eagle's 'war cry' sounded through the air, scowling.

"Hn," he said as he stepped out into the empty space of the roof. "You've really lost your mind, haven't you Pharaoh?" He narrowed his eyes as the bird, something he doubted he'd ever again link to a chicken, prepared to dive bomb him again. Really, this was so backwards, he idly thought as he attempted to dodge the strike. "Gn!" As the claws struck him, he felt a sick, disembodied feeling spread through him. His body seemed to evaporate, and vanish into nothing where the claws struck, before his body followed suit into a thick white mist. The mist reformed to the side, Bakura gasping as he took the form of the same white jackal he'd been in the Shadow Realm. Regaining his breath, he looked himself over before chuckling. "Well now 'Pharaoh'. It seems I have yet another advantage over you. I wonder though," he said as another 'war cry' was released, talons primed to strike with a dive, "Just how it is that the mighty King of Egypt could fall to such a level that a thief such as myself is forced to step in to fix things!" As he dodged the claws again, this time with such speed that it surprised even himself, he scowled at Atem's expression. It was a twisted, vile face, a face that not only did not suit him the thief thought, but his worst enemies.

The jackal gave a harsh laugh as he skidded to the side, watching as the bird stood on the roof and paced towards him. Lightening filled the skies, illuminating the oddly frightening visage of the bird. "Pathetic," he said with a growl, watching as the former pharaoh created a helm of shadows in the shape of a falcon's head. As the bird charged him, head aimed forwards to form a natural lance, Bakura snarled. So this was what the great and mighty pharaoh was brought to? Instinctual rage, blocked for scarcely seven days.

Internally, he had to praise the bird for holding out even that long. He remembered... Remembered so well the days after Kul Elna... As Atem charged closer, the jackal lept up, landing squarely on the top of the helm. "Really pharaoh," he said as he ran down the beast's back. "I was enjoying this before, but this is simply pathetic!" Charging along the tail before leaping off that to land on the roof, he ignored the constant screeches Atem was giving to stand his ground. It was fairly alarming, just how small he was compared to the bird at the moment, regardless of how much was raised and fluffed feathers. "I'd have thought you to be above this," he said in a low voice, a grim smirk on his face as the bird stalked over yet again. "Yet lo and behold, even Kings are not immune to rage; but even I have a line Pharaoh," he said as he watched the bird charge him. "And you've crossed it."

As he said this, Atem's helm pierced through his body, causing it to vanish into mist once more. In the split second that Atem had struck, the mist reformed just to the side as Bakura's human form once more. "Now then Pharaoh! I think it's time for a time out, don't you think?" Before the bird could turn to retaliate, he thrust his elbow down on the back of Atem's neck. "HAAAAH!" The crack that sounded through the air was blocked by the sounds of thunder, but the results were nonetheless as instant as the lightening behind them. Atem's eyes widened, regaining their colour as his raised hairs and feathers fell. Eyelids shut as he lost consciousness, body collapsing just as quickly as the thief heard him say one last thing.

"Ai...bou..." Bakura sighed, rain pounding on the roof as he wiped a bit of the water from his eyes. Partner indeed, to drop so far and so quickly...

Taking heavy breaths as he looked down at Atem's immense and soundless form, he stood there, a mix of a scowl and a grimace on his face. The bird was breathing quickly and heavily, and Bakura scoffed as he turned away. "Tch. This had better be the last time I clean up your messes Pharaoh." He examined his hands, idly noting that when he'd taken human form again, he'd ended up with the same features he'd had as a ghost. His voice qas quiet, but stern as he continued, even though there was no one there to listen. "These situations are meant to be reversed. Though not to the same extent you've taken it..." As he shook the water out of his hair, he turned back to head for the door, scowling as Malik shank back to hide a camera he'd been holding. "Really Malik, now is not the time..."

The blond nodded, biting his lip as he passed Bakura the camera. His head bowed down in embarrassment, before he turned to look at Atem. "I'll... Get him inside..."

Bakura nodded. "Hn. I need to dry off..." With that, he left the pair on the roof alone, the conscious one dragging Atem's body to his soul with some difficulty before pulling the teen inside.

By the time he'd made it back to the others, he'd found that they'd taken a refuge of sorts in the basement rec. room. As Malik entered the room, he sighed, the mutterings already in full tilt even with only 'half' of the usual crowd there. Collapsing on the couch, he groaned as the others turned to him to ask their questions at once.

"What happened to Atem?" "Did they die?" "Who... Who won..?"

Mai shook her head, looking at Ryou with wide eyes. "Hun, I don't know about Bakura, but at that size? I doubt Godzilla could take him." As the questions continued, Malik raised an eyebrow as he looked over at the far corner of the room. Joey was sitting there. And he was, for once, silent. While the others were practically shouting at him, tears in some eyes (Tea) and worry in others, the blond was simply... Sitting there, staring at the wall in severe shock.

It was un-nerving... He blinked as Joey abruptly stood, walking over as the others stepped back. They stared for a moment, before Mai frowned and put a hand on Joey's head. "You look like you're dead on your feet..." She frowned slightly, taking it back as if burnt. "Jesus, you're ice cold, why didn't you say anything..?"

The teen ignored her, face uncharacteristically blank as he turned to Malik. "Hey," he said, voice far quieter than his usual 'shout'. "Is he... Is he alrigh'?"

He nodded, but did not answer until the others became silent. Taking a deep breath, mostly for himself, he told them. "Both of them, Bakura and Atem, are alive and... mostly," he said with a slight wince, "Uninjured. Bakura won, if you can call it that though... So Atem will be out for a while recovering his energy. It's best you don't disturb him for now."

Joey remained silent for a moment, Tea looking as though she wanted to say something from behind him before stopping. Finally, the teen nodded. "...'s it alrigh' if I sit wi' 'm?" His usual rough accent was thicker than usual, almost slurred Malik thought in the back of his mind. Attributing it to the shock, he shook his head.

"It's better if no one bothered him..."

Another nod. "Y-Yea... Alrigh' then..." He walked off, taking a seat back in the corner he'd been in since long before Malik came in. As the teen watched him sit, he was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by a worried Tea.

"What happened," she asked, face pale as a few tears ran down her face. "Is he alright? You said he had to recover, did Bakura do something-"

Blinking as he attempted to answer the woman (he decided not to mention the video; as clear an explanation it would be for what happened... It was probably best just to bury that thing), he coughed. "Er... He's fine, Tea... Completely fine-"

"Are you sure," she asked skeptically, the others exchanging worried and knowing glances behind her. "I mean, you didn't see-"

"He said he's FINE!" The others jumped as a sudden shout from Joey's 'corner' echoed through the room, the teen's fists clenched tightly as he shook. "Just leave it alone an' let the guy rest!"

Mai paled, before coughing and addressing the others. "In fact, we should ALL get some rest. I know for a fact that this day has been a little to eventful for my preferences." Granted, it was about as eventful as anything involving 'Yami Yugi' as Atem had formerly been called... But she'd gotten used to 'normal life'. Beside her, Tea and Serenity merely nodded, the pair completely taken aback by Joey's outburst.

From behind the girls, Ryou nodded, before building on Mai's suggestion. "That sounds like an idea... Malik, I'll show them some rooms, alright?" As Malik nodded again, the albino herded the others up the stairs, leaving Malik and Joey alone in the room.

He frowned lightly, cautiously approaching the blond with his hand held forward. The teen had resumed his 'stare' at the wall, fists still clenched as he appeared to attempt burning a hole into it with his eyes. "...Joey," he said quietly, looking over the teen with raised eyebrows.

There was no answer for the first few moments. Briefly, Malik considered just leaving the room, leaving Joey to his own thing but... Biting his lip as he began to turn, he looked back as the teen finally answered. "Yea," he said, voice slightly forced. It was a tone that Malik recognized, a tone that he'd used himself the day after his 'initiation'.

Swallowing as he took in the overwhelmed blond before him, he slowly gathered up the resolve to ask his question. "Are... Are you still angry with me?" It was a naive question, he knew that much. But after all that happened he felt like he needed to know really.

Joey's answer surprised him however, a quiet and falsely calm voice answering. "Naw... Heck... I think I might have tah thank yeh now..." It was a chilling sense of peace, the kind that he was radiating right now. The sort that a suitcase gave. Before exploding to take out half a neighborhood.

He blinked, a nervous expression on his face as footsteps came from behind. They were bare feet, no shoes; Bakura then. Concentrating on Joey, he continued frowning. His hands were... Twitching, he noted. In fact, it seemed that his entire body was doing this, a constant, slight twitch that couldn't possibly be caused by all of this. Swallowing again, he focused on the conversation. "Really..? You mean that?"

The teen looked over at Malik from the corner of his eye, expression all to reminiscent of a kicked puppy. "Yea... I mean... 'S not like yah really meant i' righ'..." He took a shuddering breath, Malik nervously looking at the violent twitch his arm gave as he continued. "Like Yami.. Like Atem said, I'd 've done th' same thing for Yug', if I ever figured it out..." He added the last part with a quiet, weak laugh, which didn't at all add any humor to the situation.

As Bakura came towards the two, Malik hesitantly reached out to feel for Joey's temperature. "Joey... Are you feeling alright..?"

The answer was another light, weak laugh. "Hah, 'course I 'm... M fine..." The teen's eyes were shadowed, he noted, almost sleepless. He hadn't noticed earlier, because he never looked at Joey this close. His volume had been more than enough to deter him, and something told him the same applied to his friends.

He moved closer, looking down at Joey's shaking fists before frowning. "Joey, you're shaking..."

The weak, joking tone he'd had vanished, and the teen tensed. He jerked away from Malik, back flat against the wall as he frowned. "No I ain't... I ain't shakin, alrigh'?"

"Joey..." Malik put a hand on the teen's shoulder, before being thrown back in a surprising show of strength. He wanted to drop it, that much he could tell. Wanted the subject to go sleep in a hole and die, or maybe simply collapse right there. He watched, the frown replaced with worry as he steped back.

"M fine," he was muttering, and Malik's eyes widened as he realized that the 'slurr' had nothing to do with his accent. "J's fine... M' j's fine..."

He shook his head, looking at Joey's ghostly pale skin with wide eyes. "Something is wrong Joey, and avoiding it won't do a damn thing! Just tell me what's going on!"

Joey turned away, facing the wall again. "Nothin's wrong... Got it? N'thin... Th' only thin' wrong, is wh' happen'd teh th' Pharaoh, all righ?" He took a few shuddering breaths, eyes narrowed as he focused on speaking. "Tha's all we... That's all we ne.. Ne... Need tah worry abou'!" As Malik began to pale, the teen shrank against the wall still more if that was possible. He was stumbling over his words... What was wrong, why wasn't he talking properly? He was fine before, just fine just fine just- He groaned, while Malik turned back to look at the now approaching Bakura nervously.

As the white haired teen came over, rolling his eyes but nonetheless humoring his partner's worry, the pair looked over Joey with frowns. Where as Malik's was laced with worry however, Bakura's own was more... Confused. Or so it seemed. It was an odd stare, the teen narrowing his eyes as he took in Joey's now steady, evenly paced twitch. Unlike the twitch however, the teen's breathing was anything but. He exhaled and inhaled unevenly, quick at one point, slow at another, and each one shuddering. As Bakura was about to roll his eyes again and get the moron a blanket for the shock however, he froze. "Impossible..."

As Joey drew back still further, his vision blurred, the teen nervously exhaled a long stream of air that was laced... With shadows.

Bakura gritted his teeth. "This day just keeps getting better, doesn't it."

The teen jumped, eyes wide as he turned to Bakura. "W-What! Where'd yeh c.. Come from?"

As Malik looked at Bakura, the thief scowled. "Not now you Mutt, what the hell did you manage to pull yourself into?"

Joey shook his head, frowning. "N'thin, I tol... Told... M' fine..." It took a few seconds before he continued, Bakura idly noting that his reaction time had slowed down considerably. And while he normally wouldn't even bother with this, the fact was, shadows in a persons lungs was never a good thing. As if to strengthen those thoughts, a few more fragments of shadow came out on his breath, each exhalation littered with the violet-black specs.

"Tch..." He stared, frowning. Just what kind of twisted reality had he been brought back to, when the 'Nameless Pharaoh' went ballistic and tried to kill everything in sight and the loud aggravating mutt at his right hand was reduced to a shivering weakling in a corner. And there was of course, the shadows on each breath, which was just barely enough to keep him from making any insults on the matter.

Malik frowned, having spotted the specks as well. "Bakura... What's going on..?"

He shrugged, still frowning. "Don't look at me; I don't have a clue what the stupid mutt got himself into this time."

Before Malik could respond to that, there was a weak mumble from Joey, and the others turned again. "...M naw... Not... N't a mu... Mu... Mutt... Bas... Bast'd..." The frown deepened, and Bakura bit hit tongue to keep from calling the moron out for the idiot he was being- rather, for being more idiotic than the norm. This was accelerating, a small chilling voice in the back of his mind said. It's accelerating, and there was no indicator as to why.

Beside him, Malik simply frowned. "You've been here for 3000 years, and you don't have a clue what's going on!"

"Well," Bakura hissed, keeping his voice down so that Joey didn't hear him, "You try explaining how a human being who hasn't died or even used magic is spewing shadows from his throat with each breath!" He turned to glare at the teen, fists clenching as he watched Joey close his eyes in weakness. "I doubt even he has a clue what's going on, though that isn't the most difficult thing to assume."

The Egyptian tensed, frowning. "Well find out, because whatever it is definitely isn't good," he hissed back, before turning to look at Joey again.

Said blond gave a hacking cough, releasing a few tendrils of shadows from his breath. "My Malik, I hadn't noticed at all!" He grabbed Joey by the arm, roughly pulling him down onto the couch beside them. "Now then," he said as the teen collapsed on the couch, coughing in response. "How about some answers?" The teen continued coughing, a feeble 'fu... fu... fuck... you' being his answer.

"You know, something tells me that's not going to work..."

As Malik said this, the thief merely shook his head. "I never said anything about resorting to violence. But the fact is, without any answers, this idiot is good as dead already! Now then, if you could grab something to warm this idiot up," he said as he turned from Malik to Joey, now addressing the one on the couch. "How about you tell me just when you began twitching like a paranoid little rat?"

"M... N-no.. not... Twitch'n," the teen managed to force out, body jerking slightly as Bakura resisted the urge to simply stab the idiot in the chest and be done with him.

"Really now," he said as he roughly grabbed Joey's arm. "Then what do you call this I suppose?" He held the violently twitching limb in front of the blond's face, idly noting that it was about as pale as Ryou's skin. However, the back of his mind added with a growl, Ryou's veins and arteries weren't nearly as visible in his case. There was no answer, save for a glare as Joey tried and failed terribly to stop twitching. "Alright then," he said as he dropped the ice cold arm, "And what about your sleep patterns? From the looks of those eyes, I'm willing to bet you haven't been getting any!"

Bakura gained a rather murderous expression as Joey attempted to feign health again, the teen breathing weakly as the thief's face twisted into a seemingly sadistic grin. "Oh really," he said as he stepped back from the teen, "In that case, you should have absolutely no trouble laying one of those famous right hooks of yours. Or perhaps spit out a solid insult without stuttering, preferably above the noise level of a grasshopper! Face it, you mongrel! You're in no condition to deny otherwise! The faster you realize this," he said as he lowered his voice to a dangerous and frightening tone, "The more likely you are to successfully survive the night."

There was a silence, and for a moment Bakura considered just caving and helping Malik with the things. "I'm... Not... STUTTERING!" With a surprising rush of energy, he moved from the couch to throw a punch at Bakura, only to succumb to a hacking cough as a sick 'crack' came from his wrist.

The thief blinked, having caught the fist quite easily. Eyes widening just slightly with surprise and minor amusement, he chuckled. "How interesting," he said as he turned to the teen with narrowed eyes. "You're so weak that even your bones are giving out on you. That was the sound of your wrist breaking, Mutt." He dropped the fist, watching as Joey attempted to sit up before rolling his eyes. "And that was from the mere force of it hitting my hand. Imagine what my skull would have done if you had hit that." He turned away slightly, giving a harsh laugh. "Though I doubt you could have, with your aim being as off the mark as it is."

There was a growling noise, and Bakura turned with a raised eyebrow only to jerk back with shock. Joey, in the same burst of energy spouting from his rage flung himself forwards, teeth bared with a cry as he bit down on the closest thing he could get. As he felt his teeth waver under the force, Joey's hair was taken into the thief's grip, beore being pulled off from his arm violently. "Tch..." He watched the teen collapse on the ground, his legs still hanging limply on the couch as he shook uncontrollably. Bakura looked over his bleeding arm, scowling as he heard Malik's footsteps on the stairs. "I've attempted to be at least slightly civil about this, but by now I can see that I shouldn't have bothered!" He rolled up his sleeve, idly noting that the bite had only just broken the skin. Turning back to Joey, he continued to glare at the teen. "You may be intent on dying Mutt, but I for one would rather not have to deal with another hissy fit from your friend the Pharaoh... If you don't want to face up to the shadow sickness you so clearly have, then tell him that instead of hiding it like the pathetic dog you are!"

There was no answer as Malik came in, save for laboured breathing. As the other came towards them, Bakura carefully moved Joey back onto the couch, crossing his arms as Malik layered the blankets on the teen before handing him something. "Fuck," he muttered to himself as he looked at the two. Joey was currently looking at him weakly, head shaking as he attempted to speak.

"Wh... What.. What's ha... Ha..." He choked, Malik jerking back before looking at Bakura and mouthing something the blond couldn't decipher. "Hap.. Happenin'... t' me..?"

The thief looked over the phone he'd been given, scrolling down the 'phone book' to number '9'. He smirked as he looked at who was under the Arabic 'unlucky number', before turning to Joey with a blunt stare. "You're dying," he said, before turning to Malik. "And why exactly do you want me to call Kaiba?"

At the mention of the name 'Kaiba', Joey's eyes widened as much as possible in his state. Attempting to shake his head, his breathing became more erratic as he gathered the strength to speak. "N... No... Hn... Don'... Don' call 'm..." Dying. His breathing became pained as he closed his eyes, unwilling to watch the threads that were coming out of his mouth when he spoke or breathed. He was cold, sweating, and he was dying. Too weak to speak, to weak to move... While Bakura muttered something about that answering his question well enough, he winced and gritted his teeth. And the pain... This blinding pain...

Quite honestly, he thought as Bakura told Malik to get an icepack, maybe he should have just died all the other times he came close. Somehow, they felt better than this. Hell, he thought as he dimly heard Bakura say something about 'calling anyways', this was better than when his old man beat the snot out of him and kicked him out of the house.

When was that, a few months ago... As he drifted into these thoughts, he felt himself sink into a painful, jerking sleep, hearing a dull, faded 'He'll be here in three hours'.

Sleep...


	8. Reveal

As Joey was falling deeper and deeper into unconsciousness, Bakura clicked a few buttons on the phone before taking a seat on a nearby chair. "Get an icepack," he said as Malik raised an eyebrow. "His head is burning up, we need to cool it down. Go." Watching the teen shrug and move off, he let the phone ring, waiting for a response.

In Japan however, the one Bakura was calling was doing exactly what he normally did when someone called his phone home from Egypt. Namely ignoring it, while typing away on his computer in his office. After about 5 rings however, he was forced to admit that in the end, he would have to just answer the damn phone. Maybe if he was lucky it was something worth while for once...

Kaiba looked from his computer to the phone with narrowed eyes, another thought coming to mind as he glared at it. That, or someone had decided to kidnap his brother. Again. Still glaring as it rang, the CEO finally caved and snatched it off the hook. One of these days, he told himself. One of these days, he would get a secretary. For his house.

Yesssss...

"What is it," he said with his usual 'I could care less about YOU' tone. "I'm busy." Glancing at the caller ID, he rolled his eyes. Great. This was the same number that 'seer' Ishtar had called him from. Just lovely.

The voice on the other end growled, and he raised an eyebrow. Well now, that certainly wasn't Ishizu. In fact, he thought as the man on the other end spoke, it didn't sound familiar at all. "If you hang up on me Seto," he said with a snarl, Kaiba frowning at the use of his given name, "Ra so help me I will murder your brother."

Kaiba frowned, the words having instantly gained his attention as he finally recognized the tone and voice from a year prior. "You'll do no such thing to my brother, Bakura!" It was that cheating albino from his Battle City tournament... Well if this wasn't just cheery. "What do you want," he bit out as the thief on the other end chuckled.

"It's about that mutt, Joey," he began, the laughter cutting off as soon as he began speaking. "I need some information, and something tells me that you have it, Kaiba."

The CEO frowned, moving to turn the computer off. "Before I even address what you want with the mutt, how about you explain how you're even alive?"

There was a pause on the other end, and Kaiba mentally cursed himself. Something told him that he shouldn't have known that. Like he shouldn't have been able to read the hieroglyphs on the 'Winged Dragon of Ra' card before. And, now that he thought about it, still could. Still cursing himself mentally, he listened as the thief skipped over that particular fact and continued. "If I were you Kaiba, I wouldn't worry about how I'M alive, but how to keep your boyfriend the Mutt from dyING."

He froze. Dying? He was dying? "What..?" Gritting his teeth, he steeled himself before continuing. No weakness; this was his rival after all, since that Mutou kid turned in his cards to 'focus on school work'. He was both surprised and unsurprised when Joey did the opposite. He'd thought the mutt had been too moronic to see the advantage in actually graduating.

Of course, he later found out that the reason he was still taking part in tournaments during school hours was so that he could actually eat. Shaking off these thoughts he glared at the phone, idly wishing that it wasn't impossible for the image to appear on the other end. "Besides the fact that we have nothing to do with each other outside of tournaments and to a minimal extent school, how about you clarify that last point for me?"

There was a scoffing noise on the other end, before Bakura's all too serious voice crackled through. "Your boyfriend," he said with emphasis, "Is DYING. And without your help, he WILL. Is that a good enough explanation for you, you pompous brat?" It was fairly evident that the thief didn't like talking to him. Good. It was also fairly apparent that he didn't like Kaiba at all. Even better, he thought, before frowning when Bakura added the last bit.

Though he had no answer, he spoke anyways. Seto Kaiba always got the last word after all; there were no exceptions to this rule. "I don't share words with thieves, Bakura. But I suggest you make sure there's a room ready for when I arrive in three hours." With that, he hung up the phone, before sighing.

What had he done this time... Rubbing his head in a weakness that the teen refused to show anyone, even his brother, at the best of times, he eventually clicked a single button on the phone again with a sigh. "Roland," he said as the phone picked up, and the familiar voice came over on the other end. "I need you to prepare the jet for flight." There was a silence, and he nodded. "Good. And don't let Mokuba know about this."

Ten minutes later, he was in the air.

As the sound of a jet came over head, Malik went upstairs to watch as Kaiba's all too familiar (And expensive) 'Blue Eyes White Jet' landed behind the house. It was a good thing that the building was built so far out of the city; things would have been far more difficult otherwise. Watching as the CEO hopped out of the jet with his briefcase, he frowned. Not a spark of worry in the teen's face, only the usual, icey cold stare that he was never seen without.

Apparently even death and dying couldn't shake the 'great Seto Kaiba'. He stepped back as Kaiba came towards him, briefly recalling Joey's condition again. In the time that Kaiba had taken to fly there, he and Bakura had essentially tried everything short of throwing Joey into the Shadow Realm. And still, even when they finally had an inkling of an idea on what was happening, he deteriorated. Each breath he gave was completely black with shadows, and though his fever was now gone his core temperature was borderline hypothermic. And yet, he thought as Kaiba walked past, the teen had been clearly sweating. Turning to the CEO, he frowned. "I'm sorry for calling you out here, but we really had no one else to contac-"

"Where is he, tomb keeper?" Malik tensed at the blunt question, but shook it off. He really should have expected. "Downstairs, follow me" he said, muttering something in Egyptian.

The CEO's glared intensified, but he said nothing as he followed the Egyptian to the basement. Idly he realized that it was likely too quiet; he normally would have made some snide remark on the house by this point. However, the fact was that he had no time for that. Not to mention the clearly foreign words he'd heard Malik say had been as understandable as Japanese to him- if he were to say anything, he'd likely end up mentioning that. And such things were just. Too. Troublesome.

Entering the rec. room in the basement, it took him a while to see Joey. The teen was shaking, his twitching having increased to a seizure-like vibration that shuddered at a constant pace. A shadow of his former self, no pun intended. Pale, and as silent as the grave. He dropped the briefcase on the couch opposite the one Joey lay on, staring at the sight before finally speaking. "What is going on here," he said slowly, unable to tear his eyes away from the nearly endless stream of shadows streaming from the... His 'mutt's mouth. "And explain fast, or I'm taking him back to Japan." There were no hospitals he could take him to, but there was always something that could be done, anything. Always...

"Well," Bakura started with a hostile tone to match the look on his face, "If we knew what was going on ourselves, we wouldn't have bothered calling, would we?" He watched as the CEO turned to him, his own glare in place before continuing. "We need to know just what kinds of stress and negativity he's been exposed to in the past few years..." He smirked, before adding to the statement. "Excluding obvious Egyptian related events, of course."

He scoffed, clenching his fists as he turned to face both of the teens with narrowed eyes. "You're more idiotic than I thought- though I suppose it's to be expected when neither of you even glance in his direction save for the opportunity to gain a pawn out of it." His frown deepened, glare intensifying as he continued. "I would have thought you'd call in the the mutt's geek-squad. I certainly don't see what I would know to help in this situation, and something tells me you two aren't helping much yourselves." Loathe as he was to admit that, he added mentally. But the fact was, the mutt was careful around him as it was, without asking questions about just why he'd been walking around half dead that day.

Malik sighed, arms crossed. "They're still getting over... Tch." He frowned- worse came to worse, they'd have to force Atem awake, a situation that would hopefully not end in blood. "You're closer to him than most of us are. And the hell we're going to wake up the 'Geek Squad'," he said, quoting the last part as he shook his head. "Look, we just need to know about anything major that happened recently! Then you're free to go," 'asshole', he added mentally.

"Hn." The CEO glanced at Joey from the corner of his eye, hiding his shock as the stream of shadows escaped regardless of whether or not the blond inhaled or exhaled. Dimly, he noted that his nails were likely going to break the skin of his palms if he kept clenching his fists. In the end however, regardless of if he'd ever associate with these two in the past, there was little choice in the matter. "Don't think this has to do with some hidden relationship involving me with the mutt. I just don't like leaving corpses in places I've stayed at recently," he bit out with a well placed lie. "The fact is, I doubt that anything I'm even about to mention has much to do with this, considering that last I checked, this moron wasn't having seizures two months ago. But," he said as he crossed his arms, loosening the fists he'd been clenching with a hidden wince, "I suppose I'll tell you two anyways, provided you fix whatever the hell is going on here."

It was an interesting ability he had, the pair thought to themselves. Without ever raising his voice, the CEO could make it seem as though he was yelling, when in reality his voice barely surpassed the level of average speech. Briefly, if only for an instant, they shared a knowing glance. There was something between the two, that was certain. Otherwise, it was likely the CEO would have simply called in an ambulance and left them to hang. Turning their attention back to Kaiba however, they listened with grim curiosity as he relayed his own observations.

"Around two months ago, the mutt was kicked out of his house, if you could call it that. From what I gleaned from records during the last tournament I held, most of the moron's life has been spent paying off gambling debts for his father, only to be given thanks in the form of the same man's fist." Kaiba's expression visibly soured at the mention of the scum that called itself Joey's father, but refused to let it distract him from continuing with at least half of the truth. "Shortly after this happened, he dropped off the map, before appearing a month ago at a minor tournament I started. He didn't win of course, seeing how I was participating, but the second place prize was more than enough for him to live on after that, seeing how he bothered to return to school afterward... But there were a few things off about the Mutt's playing." Very off, he thought to himself. So much that when the mutt had refused to continue taking partial refuge at his house it had shocked him.

Kaiba's scowl deepened as he banished that thought, continuing on. "Each time he drew a card, his hand would twitch. I of course, ignored this," he said, arms still crossed. "However, each time a card was summoned or activated, he visibly shuddered. In fact, two weeks after the tournament began, I was wondering how the moron could still play- he'd gotten paler, and was twitching if he took so much as a step towards a deck of cards." It was a miracle that the teen hadn't collapsed in their duel actually... More than once, he'd been afraid of losing by default instead of through the actual game itself. A pathetic loss, it would have been. A loss that in no way proved either ones true talent.

A part of him wished he had now. "Besides all of what I just said, I don't have a clue as to what's going on. Though if any of that rubbish actually helped somehow, I suppose it wasn't a complete waste of breath." He held his usual stare, watching as the two disappeared into thought before Bakura gave him a partially grateful if not mostly amused (To put it disturbingly) look.

"Actually," he said with an oddly 'Jackal' like expression of thanks. "That actually helped considerably. You say he shuddered and twitched when even a step was taken towards cards- And cards hold a direct link to two things, the Shadow Realm," he said, slowly turning to Malik, "And the 'Ka'..." His tone grew serious, the slight smile vanishing as he spoke. "Malik- The mutt's been to the shadow realm before, correct?" As the blond nodded, he scowled. "Hn. Well isn't this just wonderful then..."

Kaiba unfolded his arms, frowning. "What," he bit out, glaring at the pair. "What the hell are you talking about?" The lack of knowledge on current matters unnerved him, ate at him beyond anything he ever did. He hated it, not knowing the details of a situation. The lack of control for the matter at hand, and the theft of his ability to prepare for what would happen next.

And he wanted it back NOW. "Kaiba," Malik said as he glared back at the teen. "Calm down, we're trying to figure it out!"

"Then explain to me just what is 'Not good' about this, besides the obvious, Tomb Keeper!" He watched as Malik flinched lightly, Bakura sending a narrowed glare at him as the CEO clenched his fists. Even without raising his voice, it was as though he'd yelled at them anyways. His tone was harsh, more so than normal, and if the 'wet' on his hands was any indicator, he'd finally cut into the flesh of his palms.

Across from him, the thief remained silent, before his expression shifted into a smirk. "Now... Why is it that you're so concerned whether he lives or not, 'Seto'?" He grinned as the CEO tensed with that name. "I thought you didn't have anything to do with the mutt outside of card games as you said." He'd pieced most of this together; that much he was sure. However, Bakura told himself, he still wasn't completely sure how to fix this... And something told him that waking Atem would only waste time at this point.

Kaiba, for the moment, merely continued to glare at the thief King, un-clenching his fists again before any 'real' pain hit. "I already told you thief, I don't. But as I said, leaving corpses in places I've recently been, particularly those that I have little influence in, tends to look badly on me. Particularly after finishing off a tournament where that 'corpse' participated into the finals." Truth be told, he mentally added, he'd completely lost track of the mutt at the end of the tournament. Although Joey had returned to classes, he failed to stay behind afterward in any way. The CEO had offered him a place to stay shortly after the blond had been dumped on the streets, that was true- but the fact remained, once the tournament was over, he'd vanished completely save for 'important' things like the school building.

He couldn't even figure out where the Mutt was working after that. The CEO's attention was snapped back into focus as Bakura scoffed, crossing his arms. "Is that so? Last I recall, you were living oddly close together..."

He also scoffed, recognizing an attempt to gain a rise when he saw it. Besides, he reminded himself, 'this' Bakura didn't even exist until after Joey had dropped off the map. Strange and unrealistic as it was to create 'two' of one person. "Don't try to distract me thief, you'll find yourself sorely disappointed." Kaiba resumed his glare, staring Bakura down with eyes that could freeze the hottest flames in hell. "Now tell me what this business about shadows and 'ka's is."

"Hn!" Bakura frowned as he explained, silently berating the CEO for his 'idiocy' on the matter. "A 'Ka', you selfish twit, is one of six fragments in the soul. It was essentially said to be a monster however, being one of the... Darker aspects of the human spirit. And yet, in the end, it was also the 'true form' of a being, the body they would take in the afterlife." He gave a cruel chuckle, smirking. "Says a little something about the human race's opinion on things, doesn't it?" Despite the grim situation at hand, he continued to smirk, ignoring the CEO's steadily intensifying glare. "What's happening to the Mutt," he said as his tone and expression became sever again, "Is being triggered by an onslaught of negative events and emotions from both the past and recent activities. Most likely, the catalyst would have been his battle in the shadow realm against Marik..." As he said this, Malik winced, frowning.

"It seem's I'm the cause for everything..." As he said this, Bakura paused, before pulling him close with his arm and lightly pecking the side of his cheek. Ignoring the 'tic' that was likely appearing by Kaiba's head, the thief continued on.

"The Shadow Realm, might I add, is home to Kas that have been ripped from the body before death. A place where they are known only as 'duel monsters', trapped within it for eternity..."

As a dark grin came into place with those words, Kaiba continued frowning. "Again with this 'Shadow Realm' business," he said as he scoffed. "I don't completely buy it, but given the mess that's underway at the moment something tells me I have little choice." Watching as the two in front of him continued cuddling slightly (Mostly it was Bakura rubbing Malik's back and whispering something in Egyptian. Which he understood), he scowled. "And please... I get enough of this from the nerd patrol. Tell me what's going on, NOW."

"Hn!" Bakura turned, frowning before the expression quickly turned into a sick grin. "You want to know what's going on? I just told you! Your 'boyfriend' is dying, of a little something called 'Shadow Poisoning'!" The grin grew, twisted as Malik simply glared at the CEO his partner addressed. "Exposure to the Shadow Realm managed to jump-start something that shouldn't happen until his actual death. I don't know the specifics 'Seto', nor do I know exactly how to reverse it, but I can tell you this. Until we find out how, it's not going to leave, so if I were you, 'Priest'," the grin faded into a smirk, eyes narrowing slightly as a spark of confused recognition appeared in the CEO's eyes with that last title, "I would listen to what we have to say, and live with the bonuses involved."

Kaiba continued scowling, before turning to look at Joey. "That's all very 'touching', but-" He froze, looking at the bedridden teen with wide eyes. The twitching had stopped, his body almost completely motionless. All it did, however, was make it more easy to watch as his jaw moved in a seeming attempt at speech, a silent scream of pain as he tried to open his eyes...

But under the lids, nothing but shadows were there, strands of the powdered substance seeping from the crack between them. "How long do you expect him to last in this condition," he finally said, voice tense as he shook slightly.

Malik swallowed, eyes growing wide as well as he looked around the CEO at Joey. "Not very long..." He looked to Bakura nervously, the thief simply furrowing his eyebrows in thought. There was little time, if in the minutes they'd been speaking his entire eyes had been evaporated...

He smirked darkly, mentally praying to any Egyptian god and goddess listening that this would work. "Well Kaiba... It looks like we're going to take a trip to the 'Shadow Realm'..."

Beside him, Malik frowned. "Are you crazy?" He'd just gotten back from there, he told himself. It was probably sheer willpower that kept him awake at the moment, if he went BACK to that place now...

As though reading his mind, Bakura scoffed. "Please, you're not coming with me Malik- you're too weak right now, and we don't need anyone dragging us behind." Though the comment sounded more than insulting, the former tomb keeper nodded. A certain look in the thief's eyes, a glimmer if it could be called that, was all he needed to know the true intent behind the comment.

Kaiba, however, balked at those words, turning from Joey to stare at the thief. "Excuse me," he said with a slightly incredulous undertone in his voice. "And what, provided I even believe all of this, would possibly possess me to even consider going there?"

"Well," Bakura said with a smirk. "I'm certainly not going alone," he said, watching as Malik went upstairs to get some rest.

He gritted his teeth, fists clenching yet again. "And what do you plan on doing in there? Having a vacation?" His anger quickly became evident, his usually calm, if not stone cold expression becoming slightly tinged with red as the emotion began to spark in his eyes, as well as his voice. "How about bringing up an actual solution, rather than trying something as hare-brained as going to the so-called cause of the problem!"

"Well it's either this or wake up the pharaoh," the thief bit out with a growl, "And his solution would more than likely end up killing the mutt anyways!" Actually, he thought, it probably wouldn't kill him so much as they wouldn't find out what it was until the bird was calmed down... By which point Joey would most likely be dead anyways.

The CEO held back a retort, taking another glance at Joey before turning back to Bakura with an expression of distaste. "Fine," he said, the thief blinking as the teen gave into the idea. "But if this makes things even worse than they already are," he said with an unusually murderous expression across his face, "You'll find out just how much KaibaCorp. can influence in this world before you crumble." He hoped to hell however, that it didn't come to that.

Bakura did nothing but nod, smirking as he looked past the CEO at Joey. "Grab the Mutt... We leave now." And right as he did just that, the thief turned to the wall, his hand held outwards in a fashion similar to Atem's. "SEN!" The rift opened, Kaiba watching with wide and disbelieving eyes as it grew in size before 'swallowing' the three whole.

And then, all he saw was darkness.

All he felt even, was darkness. The CEO shivered, quickly growing pale as he turned about in the pitch black scene around him. There was nothing. Nothing at all in this place, and it was completely silent. For the first time in a while, he felt completely and utterly frightened, as though every other emotion was being sapped away by the world around him. His heart beat pounded, blood rushing through his veins as the sound echoed in his ears.

So cold... So very very cold, he thought to himself as he shivered, before a blinding light caught his attention from the belt at his side. "What..." Numbly, as though controlled by a separate force, he grabbed the source of the light and blinked. This card..? He'd have expected one of his dragons, with all that the tri-colour haired, leather wearing game nerd was going on about in the times they spoke. Instead, the card he held was only just slightly related to it, a card meant for sacrifice really. He stared, dimly aware of the pressuring darkness around him as he frowned. None of this was possible. None of it. And yet... "I summon," he heard himself say, voice sounding unsure for the first time in at least 8 years, "Paladin of White Dragon."

He didn't completely know what he'd expected, but it hadn't been this. A blinding light as opposed to shadows surrounded him, the CEO covering his eyes before opening them in shock. Where it had only been darkness was now a vast, empty wasteland that resembled something from his brother's old cartoons. Kaiba looked himself over, blinking as he felt the armor his summoned card granted him. "Tch," he said as he frowned. He looked like a convention going nerd... "Where the hell am I..."

This entire scene had to be a hallucination, he told himself. Joey's illness, the 'second Bakura' who acted almost completely different, the flight to Egypt... All of it. None of this could possibly be real, he told himself as he crossed his arms with a scowl. This was the last time he took coffee from Mokuba, he thought, before slowly walking off in the direction he was facing. Or possibly any coffee if it was after 3 in the morning, he thought to himself, dully noting that the 'ground' he was walking on was nonexistent.

As he pondered these things, the CEO didn't even consider the fact that something could be watching him...

The moment they had entered, Bakura noted, Joey's form was surrounded by shadows. The teen, though unconscious for the moment, was completely covered by them as tendrils flailed around uncontrollably in some twisted joke of a cocoon. As the thief looked around however, he frowned. Well wasn't this just lovely, the billionaire managed to loose himself. Turning to the 'mutt', he decided to content himself with watching the shadows.

He quickly regretted this however, as the teen apparently regained consciousness in those few moments, and a smothered, blanketed version of himself could be faintly seen. It, rather he, spasm-ed, attempting to break free of the cocoon with a scream of pain that caused Bakura to jump back from the volume. "HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The thief plugged his ears, watching with dull interest as the shadows surrounding him only served to 'tighten' in response, condensing as they attempted to do some unseen thing to the teen.

The screaming continued. "AAAAAAAAAUUUUUHHHHH!" Well, Bakura thought with a frown as the cries increased in volume, the mutt had certainly regained his voice and energy for some reason. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" A few 'tics' appeared, his eyebrow twitching as the Egyptian attempted to block out the noise. For the love of any god or goddess listening, if he would just shut up already...

Oddly enough, he did just that. The thief paled, unplugging his ears. That was much too fast for comfort, he told himself as he moved over to inspect the still writhing and 'reforming' mass of shadows surrounding Joey. Far too fast, in fact, and he idly wondered if it was 'Set', the god of chaos who randomly decided to answer his prayers- an answer he would rather not receive from that particular deity really...

He watched as the shadows receded, letting out a small sigh of relief as the form revealed began to breathe. Well, he thought with a sigh, at least this spared him the troubles of dealing with a temperamental chicken... Although, he decided as he smirked at the teen's body, he would now probably have both a chicken AND a priest at his heels, not to mention anyone else who saw this.

The body was armored of course. That was to be expected, with his 'fighter' personality, and well defended past. But it was small, short even, about the size of most 'Level Up' type monsters at their first form. In fact, the thief added to his thoughts with a grin, he wouldn't be surprised if Joey's ka was actually the same height as Yugi was, rather, had been. Still, he decided as he crossed his arms and snickered at the sight before him, the mutt would definitely not like this, considering that the body covered in armor was also covered in a pale orange fur of sorts. But where was the sword, he idly thought to himself as he looked at the sheath on the dog's side. He hardly expected there to be no weapon...

"YES!" Bakura jumped as a voice called from elsewhere in the area, eyes instantly locating the source as it hovered above Joey's still sleeping form. "FREE AT LAST," the shadowed, almost ashen being cried, and the thief paled as it turned his attention towards him. Well. That wasn't Joey. He stepped back, cursing as the dust creature looked down at him. "Oi, who the hell are you?" Awww fuck.

Meanwhile in the world of the living, a certain 'chicken' was wincing in his sleep, blankets twisted around him as he rolled over multiple times. A nightmare, anyone could guess by simply looking at him. But what it was, was the question.

A question he would not answer any time soon, as he watched his berserk and instinctual form attack and slaughter the hallucinatory forms of all he knew. Tea was first, running after him, along with Mana, the girl from his past. Then Tristan, Joey, Duke, Mahad... And just as he watched 'himself' approach Yugi, tears streaming down his face, the dream stopped. 'It's alright,' a voice called out. Atem paled as it sounded behind him, knowing that sound all to well.

"Yugi..."

There was a laugh, and the voice answered. 'Not quite. But you're close. It's alright, Atem.' He stood, unable to turn around as the voice continued, comforting hands placed on his shoulder. 'You don't need to hide everything away... Ok?'

"But-" He was cut off, the voice continuing, and he had a feeling that its owner was currently giving him a rather childish frown.

'But nothing. From now on, I want you to live honestly! No more pretending to not be affected by what's happened! Cry when you're sad, shout when you're angry, and laugh when you're happy... But don't hide it! Or all of this,' he said as the false corpses of his friends littered the imaginary ground, 'Will actually happen...'

Atem bit his lip, tears forming again as he allowed the voice to chastise him as another with the same sound had done before. "But I... I know that it was beyond their control... I can't..."

There was a laugh. 'I never said to punish anyone! Besides, you said you know right?' It paused, before continuing with it's innocent tone. 'Just admit your feelings... Don't hide them, admit them, face them, and then conquer them!'

The former pharaoh gave a sad smile as he looked down at the ground, eventually speaking. "Yugi... Where are you..?"

To his surprise, the voice answered. 'I don't know. It's dark here...' As the voice faded and he returned to consciousness, he heard only a few more words.

'Help...'

The teen awoke with a jolt, clammy and shaking before the events of the evening caught up to him in a flash. "Dear Ra," he whispered, holding his head in his hands as he attempted to steady his breathing. "What did I do..." He stumbled out of the bed, looking out of the bedroom window with wide and horrified eyes. "What have I done..?"

Unlike in the dream, this time he received no answer.


	9. An Addition

As Atem walked down the dark hall, the first thing he noticed in the kitchen was the light. He brightened slightly- obviously someone was awake even though it was likely midnight-one in the morning, but when he noticed it was Malik sitting there his cheer faded. Malik didn't look very good. In fact, the teen thought as he entered the room, he seemed worried.

Atem winced inwardly, hesitant to start any conversation. His memory was still foggy. Blurred, and faded from the instinct driven fight. He couldn't remember if he'd 'won' or 'lost'... But nonetheless, as he stood by the door, he coughed to get the blond's attention. "Is... Is everyone alright? I," he frowned slightly as the teen looked up in surprise, turning away. "I don't completely remember what happened when I..." The teen trailed off, biting his cheek. He'd rather not remember that side of himself, to tell the truth...

"Oh," Malik blinked, standing up from where he'd been sitting. He'd thought that Atem would still be recovering honestly- it'd only been maybe... An hour since the others left? "Yea... You didn't do anything, aside from give Bakura a hard time. The others are fine... Well, Joey WAS fine..." He trailed off, folding his hands as he awkwardly used the past tense while turning away.

His eyes widened, and he frowned. "Was..?" Walking over to the table, the former pharaoh resisted the urge to grab Malik's shoulders as he pressed the matter further. "What do you mean, 'was'," he said, stumbling just slightly at the thought of the worst that could have happened. "If I didn't do anything, then how could Joey be injured after the fact?" As an intense look of guilt came over him, he tensed at the sight of Malik drawing back slightly. Calming down a little, he clarified. "If I was dealt with... What did I do," he asked, tone all to serious.

Malik sighed, hand on his head before looking back at Atem and rolling his eyes. "You didn't DO anything Atem, it's fine... It's just..." He sighed again. He was way too tired to deal with any of this... But the fact was, he couldn't sleep without knowing just what happened in the Shadow Realm. "If anything, it's probably my fault," he added as an afterthought, thinking back to what Bakura said about 'Marik'.

The taller of the two frowned, staring at Malik with worried eyes. "What do you mean?" That couldn't be right... There was nothing that he could have done, even unintentional in the time he was unconscious, at least he thought not... "You can't have... You wouldn't have done anything to the others, and certainly not on purpose..." Whatever it was, he thought, it couldn't be much. He hoped at least. "What happened," he finally asked, watching as Malik tensed slightly.

"The mu- ...Errm..." He took a deep breath, calming himself down as he turned his eyes away. "Well... Joey got shadow poisoning so, ah... Bakura took him and Kaiba to the shadow realm..." His sentence quickly faded into a sound scarcely above a whisper, the teen looking down guiltily.

Though he couldn't see the blank, if not slowly comprehending expression on Atem's face, he had a feeling that if he could it would be incredibly stiff at the moment. "Shadow... Poisoning..." Malik looked up, and blinked as Atem muttered something about sitting down somewhere before leaving the room.

"Er, Atem..?" The teen set out after him, eventually finding him 'perched' on the windowsill outside his room. The window was locked, so he wouldn't be able to pull him in or anything... But as he looked at the obviously guilt-ed and miserable Egyptian on the ledge, he sighed. From what he could tell from the mutterings, he was blaming himself... "Come on Pharaoh," he said, hoping to at least get some kind of reaction from the teen, "It's not your fault in anyway!" Quite honestly, he told himself with a mental sigh, he'd been expecting a calmer reaction. Something like 'The Shadow Realm? Huh?' or even 'Kaiba? Why is he here?'. Instead... "If anything it's mine Atem, just stop blaming yourself alright..." Completely. Unexpected.

Atem however, simply continued holding his head in his hands. "It is! I should have felt something, even just a spec when he came into the room!" As he slumped on the window ledge, he turned to look up at the sky, rain still pouring down. "But instead... It got so bad that Bakura chose to bring him to the source..." He shuddered, turning his head to look out at the road before continuing. "And that would mean he was spitting shadows... If I'd caught it before then, I could have fixed this, and I know that this didn't happen until I went berserk on the roof..." There was another sigh, and he looked down, looking all too pathetic with the rain soaking him. "For all I know, he reached that point as a reaction to my going berserk anyways."

He gritted his teeth, before shouting at the 'ex-pharaoh' through the window. "Well at least you aren't the one who triggered it in the first place," he shouted, voice heavily laced with guilt. "Unless you forgot what starts the poisoning in the first place!" By this point Malik felt like sitting in a corner like Joey had been and just forgetting everything. He didn't sign up for this crap... Why couldn't Atem have waited another thousand years to appear, leave him to live underground for his life like every other ancestor of his.

As he leaned against the window and slumped to the ground, his answer was a guilty look from the ledge, and a comforting blanket of feathers.

After the shadowy being appeared, Bakura decided it would be prudent to stay just a few paces away from him. It seemed to hover almost protectively above Joey's body, sending an odd, disembodied glare at the thief. Deciding not to let that fact bother him, h merely smirked and looked back at the dog's body. "So he really IS a mutt," he said with a smirk, watching as the dust cloud raised a nonexistent eyebrow.

"Heh..?" It frowned, or at least came as close as it could having nothing but emptiness between the clouds for eyes and a mouth. "What the heck are yah talkin' about?" It looked down at Joey for a moment, before back to Bakura as though deep in thought. "Right," he said, making an odd coughing sound. "That. Well, it's not so surprising to me, he said with a grin, before laughing loudly. "I've been staring at that thing for 19 years total buddy!" Idly, he wondered if the being would have crossed his arms if it had any. As it was, all it had other than his enormous 'head' was a pair of clawed hands if they could be called that.

The theif snickered to himself, smirking. "19 whole years? I feel very, VERY sorry for you then." Though it begged the question as to who this was...

The shadow flared, resembling an odd cloud of flames. "Pffft! At least I wasn't stuck in a gold ring for three thousand years! I'm just an accessory to the kid's soul," he shouted, Bakura assuming that 'the kid' was refering to Joey. "What's your excuse pal?" The thief frowned just slightly as the thing said this. So this 'shadow' had access to Joey's memories? And what did he mean by 'accessory'... He frowned, briefly wondering how being a part of Joey's soul gave him a completely separate personality.

"Have you ever heard of 'Zorc'," he asked with a slightly curious tone, still frowning slightly as the shadow cocked it's head.

"Zorc," he said, closing his eyes as he drifted off into thought. "Oh yeaaa... That's the guy with the dragon dick!" How quaint, Bakura thought with a smirk as the shadow continued. "Gave the kid some serious willies, let me tell yah! Nightmares for- Waiiiiiit wait wait!" It flared again, resuming an incredibly defensive stance of sorts around Joey again. "Why the hell am I telling you this! I'm on tah you whitey! You stay away yah creep!" The thief flinched, scowling at the term 'whitey' as the shadow continued in his rant. "This kid's my charge, got it pal? MINE! Only one who's ever gonna wield me in battle, got it? Mine mine mine!"

Possesive little bugger, he thought with a glare. Though if the comment on being 'wielded' was any sign, it explained where the mutt's sword was. "Dear Ra you're possessive..." He shook his head, frowning. "You almost remind me of Mar-" The teen froze, blinking before a smirk came over him. 'Charge' was it... Well now, this could change everything, couldn't it?

"Hnnngg..." The thief was pulled out of his thoughts as a groan came from below the shadow. Said shadow quickly tensed, a few particles shooting upwards before it hurriedly swooped down before the dog's face.

"Oi!" He waved his hands in a somewhat comforting motion, as though attempting to calm a storm before it happened. "Oi oi oi, kid! Kid, you alright? Come on kid~" Bakura rolled his eyes as the dust cloud rambled off in a worried, accented tone that somewhat resembled the mutt's own voice. "It's me~ Grimmy~ Actually," he added as he crossed his 'arms' with a frown. "Never EVER call me that, I hate that. Grim! It's just Grim, got it!" Joey groaned again, moving just slightly as Bakura watched in mild interest. "Come on kid... I've been waiting to talk to yah for years..."

Finally, he opened his eyes, Bakura already plugging his ears as the expected happened. He looked at Grim... Looked at himself...

And screamed, rather loudly.

As Kaiba wandered at a steady, if not clearly annoyed pace through the groundless realm, the CEO had the strangely paranoid feeling that he was being watched. A shuffle could be heard in the distance, and as he frowned, he stopped to look around for the source. "Great," he said as he was greeted with nothing but the sound of a ringing bell. "Not only am I stuck in this ridiculous nightmare world dressed in a monster card, I'm being stalked." He gritted his teeth, before addressing the shuffling, ringing noise following him. "Show yourself! Or do I have to do everything myself?"

There was another shuffling noise, followed by a 'ting' from the bell before it fell silent. "Who's there!" His voice echoed through the realm, fading out after a few seconds as he began walking again, this time towards the ringing. "Come out now, before I give you more than enough reason to do so..." Mentally, he smacked his head for saying that. Great... He sounded like a small child's parent, or at least when he'd babysat a 4 year old Mokuba.

Come to think of it, he felt like he had back then too at the moment, as much as he hated to admit it. The ringing stopped abruptly, before beginning again from behind. Seto turned, cape swishing as he looked towards the sound. "There! ...What?" He frowned, finding nothing as short 'giggle' sounding rings echoed in the distance.

"Tch..." This was steadily becoming more and more of a pain in the ass, he thought as he resumed his steady pace. As he did so however, he smirked. If he wasn't having luck finding it while it followed him, then it was probably just clinging for attention. "Alright then," he muttered under his breath, suddenly reminded all to well of when his brother had done this. "I'll just leave it alone." Now that he thought about it, the thief was the only one who knew how to get out of here, and given the absurdity of the place, both he and the Mutt were trapped here too. Crossing his arms as he walked off in the direction opposite the bells, he did his best to ignore the continuous shuffles and peals with a frown. Quite honestly, this cry for attention was pathetic and- "Umn!"

Kaiba stumbled lightly, silently thankful that no one had seen him do so. Rubbing the top of the helmet he was wearing, he scowled. "What the hell..." As he looked around for the source only to hear the 'giggling' bell, his scowl deepened. "Of all the things to be stuck with in this place." This was just wonderful, wasn't it. He was trapped and alone in this place with a violent, childish 'thing'. Grinding his teeth as he continued to peer around for the source of the noise, he abruptly grew pale as his thoughts of escape brought him to the reason he'd come in the first place. "...Katsuya," he muttered as he turned away from the sounds, clenching his fists. That was right- if this was real then so was the nightmare-ish poisoning he'd been going through. "I need to leave, and now," he muttered as he took off into a run. "And stop distracting me," he told the 'mystery stalker', glancing back at where he suspected it was hiding in the corner of his eye. "If you want attention so bad, show yourself!"

There was a loud 'angry' peal of a bell, before silence, and Seto turned his attention to the front again with a smirk. That was better. Now to- "Tch!" The teen stumbled again, almost falling over as his foot caught over a stick of some sorts. Regaining his footing however, he glared at the emptiness beside him that had spawned the now missing staff. Tripping and falling was not something he did- particularly when there was no discernible ground to fall onto. However, he thought with a sneer, this still invisible brat was beginning to get on his nerves. Something thumped at his side, and as he looked down in an expression of slight curiosity, he scoffed. Of course- if he was wearing the Paladin's armor, it would HAVE to come with the Paladin's sword, now wouldn't it? Deciding that it would be about the only threat he could offer to this annoyance, he drew the long, sharp blade from it's sheath and held it out as he took a slightly defensive (if not considerably arrogant) pose. "Listen, you little nobody," he began with a scowl. "I'm trying to focus on finding out if the reason I came here is still alive, so either leave me alone," the teen said as he adjusted his grip on the sword, "Or you'll find out just what this sword can do!"

Before he had the time to wonder if the target of his frustrations realized that he couldn't well stab what he couldn't see, the 'thing' revealed itself, mouth open in silent laughter as it looked up at Seto. The 'duel monster', given that he doubted it was anything else, was probably a foot taller than Yugi not counting the hair that said teen had. Dressed in a loose violet robe that was so clearly oversized it hid his feet, the small magician had a neck piece similar in appearance to that of the Dark Magician's, from which a long sheet of fabric came down on the front and back. As the boy, as he assumed the thing was male, rung the bell strung on his staff with a grin however, Kaiba noted that he couldn't completely see it's face. In fact, he realized with a frown, though it was clear that he had one, it seemed to still be shrouded in shadows beneath the enormous cloth hat it wore, a few blond bangs poking out from beneath it.

"Hmp," he muttered as the blade was sheathed. "So you are a kid..." As he crossed his arms and watched the boy nod furiously, he raised an eyebrow. Besides the bell, the 'child' was oddly silent... Too much so, he added as an after thought, while dully noting the similarities between the brat and a certain leather-clad nerd's 'Dark Magician'. Deciding to play nice seeing how he was still at a disadvantage (Loathe as he was to admit), he chose his next words carefully as he addressed the mage. "That wasn't to hard now was it?" Frown softening, he continued. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find my... Friend... And I would prefer not to be interrupted while I do that." As he said this in his usual cold tone of voice, the magician stuck his tongue out at him, shaking his stick of a wand playfully to ring the bell tied to the top.

Seto scowled, pausing in the move he'd made to leave as he looked back down at the boy. And what was that supposed to mean, he thought before turning back to the vast wastes ahead of him. "...Tch." Looking back down, his scowl deepened. "If I LET you follow me," he bit out with clenched fists, "Will you leave me alone?" It felt fairly idiotic, asking this of the seemingly mute duel monster, but quite frankly no one was watching... And as earlier thoughts supported, this thing wasn't telling anyone. He blinked as the kid grinned, jumping in the air to perform a somersault of sorts before waving his staff in the air. Well, now he was getting somewhere, wasn't he. Smirking, he began walking again, the magician following behind him. "Good," he said as he held his arms at his sides again. "And before we really get moving, don't try to trip me or anything related to it. It's pathetically immature..."

There was a mock salute from the boy, and they continued off.

Meanwhile, as Joey finally cut his initial scream of absolute terror short, Bakura rolled his eyes. Honestly, the moron had just finished a fit of screaming, why did he have to have another one. Unplugging his ears, he watched with mild amusement as the dog jumped back from 'Grim' as the shadow was called. Joey looked back and forth between the shadow and the thief, multiple times in fact, before finally pointing an accusing, gloved finger in Bakura's direction. "You," he shouted angrily, the thief merely giving him a look that said 'Meeee?'. "What tha' hell did yah do tah me!" As Grim turned to theoretically support these claims, Joey quickly turned the finger on him as well. "An' who the hell are you!"

The cloud, if it was possible, shrugged as he turned to Bakura. "I expected this I guess," he said with a flat and seemingly knowing tone. "Really, I did."

"Well of course you did," the thief said with a snort, "You said yourself you were stuck with the mutt for 19 years."

Joey balked, looking at Bakura a moment before turning to Grim again. "WHAT! You were WHAT?"

He whined, holding his 'head' in his hands a moment before cutting the dog short. "C'mon Joey... I'm your buddy, your pal..! Don' be like that!" He floated closer to the teen, Joey tensing as he stepped back. "I've been waiting YEARS for this day! Heck, it's my job!" He hovered in place, seeing that his 'charge' wasn't letting him near anytime soon. "A protector! A weapon!" To support this fact, the cloud of smoke and dust making up his body swirled together to form a large blade for a moment, before returning to the state it had been prior. "I mean," he began with a sad voice, wringing his 'hands' as he watched Joey continue to watch him skeptically, "I know this ain't perfect kid... Hell," he added with a snort, "After you started having such a big beef against dogs and such, I was really worried yah know?" He watched the dog as he stared back with slightly believing eyes, still wary of the cloud. Sighing, he continued, his tone a mixture of joking and fearful. "Hey man, it's not all bad right? I mean, maybe it's for the best! You were dying kid," he said, slight hysteria evident in his voice. "As in going to see the big alligator with the scales! And trust me," the cloud said, his voice growing soft. "You're a good kid, but as good as yah are, it takes one hell of a big-ass feather, to out weigh a heart."

There was a snort from the side, Joey and Grim both looking over as Bakura gained a sarcastic grin. "So that's how the pharaoh made it in... Fucking chicken."

"Oi!" Joey snarled, having (somewhat) calmed down about the situation for the moment, though the key word was 'somewhat'. Still clearly confused, if not absolutely terrified about the entire ordeal, he ignored the fact that he was standing in the shadow realm for the sake of some normalcy. Not to mention the shadowy cloud of dust and smoke that was floating beside him. And the fact that he was currently a short, armored dog. Pushing those thoughts aside as he continued growling, he clenched his fists. "Don't you call my best pal a chicken man! That's what started this mess in the first place!"

Bakura rolled his eyes, walking towards the dog to look him over as he spoke. "Actually 'Mutt', this started quite a few months ago if you want to be specific..." Ignoring the chuckling from Grim, he sent the dog a half-hearted glare. "So if I were you, I wouldn't start running your filthy mouth off."

As Grim laughed, he turned to Joey and nodded. "Yea kid! C'mon! 'S no worse than when you tried to toughen up the-" He cut off, making an odd choking noise as he remembered that Yugi was apparently dead now and changed the subject. "Besiiiiides, what's done is done! Be glad it's over now, and just think of the possibilities!" Hands open and waving through the air, he placed one on his charge's shoulder and waved the other before them, ignoring Joey's pointedly unnerved expression. "Imagine! I bet you could use me to slice through concrete cleanly, with one hand! And by the way," he said as he jutted a 'thumb' at Bakura. "The guy's got a point.

He huffed, appearing to shrink into his helmet, an accessory that covered most of his head as it was- In fact, Bakura noted now that Grim wasn't pushing him away with his yelling, besides part of the face and neck, the only other part of his body not covered with fabric or armor of any kind was a rather curled and fluffed tail at the back. Something that was amusing him to no end he decided as the Mutt began speaking again.

"Maaaannn..." He groaned, holding his head in his hands. "What possessed yah to throw me in here tah begin with! Yah said 'Shadow Sickness', doesn't th' word 'Shadow' tell yah to avoid it?"

"Well," Grim began as he scratched his 'cheek', "When yah think about it kid-"

"Stuff it." Surprisingly enough, the cloud did just that, huffing slightly before forming a blade again and setting himself down in the dog's sheath. Joey then turned back to Bakura, frowning as he waited for an answer.

The teen laughed, smirk held in place. "If I didn't bring you here mutt, you would have died!" He watched as Joey shivered, the thief cackling a bit with a grin. "Really now, I didn't even get so much as a thank-you!" Bakura pouted falsely, before turning to walk away. "You're more of a chicken than the pharaoh... Now then, let's find that pompous moron you call a boyfriend so we can leave this place."

"H-Hey, wait up!" Ignoring the muffled 'He's got a point!' from his sheath, Joey ran after the thief after first blinking a few moments at the mention of Kaiba. After a short mental breakdown on the fact that he had a tail when it thumped against the sheath a few times, he jogged over to the now much taller-than-he Bakura. "I... I didn't mean tah not say anythin', it's jus..." He sighed, turning away as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's all so much, yah know?" The dog stared out at the empty space that was the shadow realm, the thief beside him simply remaining silent. Sure, Bakura had said that last thing as a joke but... Biting the inside of his cheek, he decided that he still needed to thank him. "Anyways... What with the you I knew before bein' a giant purple people eater an' all..." He turned to face Bakura, attempting to bring his mumbling to a more audible level. "I figure I should give yah a chance in my books."

Bakura blinked as Joey apologized, before smirking. "'Purple People Eater'? How appropriate." Turning to look forwards again, he froze slightly as a distant ringing was heard. "That's... Odd."

The dog blinked, turning to look in the same drection as he attempted to ignore the ringing sound his helmet (At least, he assumed it was the helmet) was making. "Nyeh? What'd yah stop for?"

"Someone's over there..." Not giving it any more thought, the teen broke into a run, heading for the ringing noise at top speed. It was a small bell, he decided as the peals sounded through the air. A round one, probably attached to a string...

As he charged, Joey struggled to keep up. "You mean I ain't hearin' things?" Racing after Bakura, he briefly considered dropping to all fours, mentally berating himself for even considering the act. Personally he blamed any instincts this body came with, but at the same time... "But who could it b-" He stopped running, blinking with shock as he saw someone walk through the foggy, shadowed mist that hung around the area.

Beside him, Bakura simply smirked. "See what happens when you get lost around here, Priest?" The thief chuckled as he stopped running as well, a grin appearing on his face. "Things tend to tag along."

"Hmp." Seto walked out of the mist, the magician tag-along following close behind as he frowned. "Tell me something I don't know, thief." The scowl was quickly dropped however, and although half of his face was hidden by the helmet, it was fairly clear that his expression was that of slight (which in Kaiba's case translated out to 'complete') shock. "Is that..."

Joey winced, before giving a weak smile to the CEO. "Hey Kaiba... How yah doin?"

For a moment, the billionaire said nothing. As he stood there in silence, Joey watched the small magician beside him play with his staff- apparently, the top doubled as a 'cup and ball' game, and the boy was now attempting to catch the bell with the top of the staff. As he and Bakura looked at the kid however, he ended up turning to Kaiba again before blinking. Something felt off, why was he looking at Bakura like-

There was suddenly a loud cracking noise, and Joey watched with wide (But mildly amused) eyes as Kaiba delivered a very well placed, and even better thrown right hook to the thief's face. "If I ever... Find that there was a solution other than this, thief," he said with a dangerous tone, flexing his hand a small bit to get over the sting before returning it to his side, "I WILL carry out my threat." As Joey swallowed nervously at the unseen glare that was aimed at Bakura, the thief merely smirked, wiping a bit of blood from his now bruising cheek. As the CEO turned to him however, the dog blinked, somehow knowing that even though he couldn't see the teen's eyes, whatever stare he'd held before had softened considerably. They fell silent a moment, before he snorted, a smirk coming over his face. "Hmp! You would be a mutt, Katsuya."

"Hey!" He scowled, fur bristling. "I told yah not teh call me that! Both o' those!"

The CEO simply snorted, crossing his arms. "Whatever, Mutt."

As the bickering continued, the magician and Bakura watched with mild amusement, the latter putting up a false smile. "Awww, how sweet," he said as he crossed his arms as well. "A lover's quarrel." He continued rubbing his cheek, the smile replaced with a smirk. "And by the way 'Priest'," he added. "If I were you, I would watch what you say to the 3000 year

As Kaiba sent another glare (unseen of course) towards Bakura, Joey merely sputtered. "Wha wha what!" He turned however, as the magician beside them began ringing his bell in celebration for successfully returning the orb to 'cup' on the staff. "Oi, who is this guy?"

The others looked down, Seto merely shrugging. "I wouldn't know- the brat hasn't said a word since I found him." He turned away, apparently still sore about any events that occurred between them earlier. "The only thing he does seem interested in is ringing that annoying bell and hitting people with the stick he has."

The others turned to look at the magician, watching as he grinned and somersaulted backwards before landing again. "Hn," the CEO said as the boy did this. "As I said, completely mute."

Staring at the magician, Joey frowned. The boy was currently staring at him, shadowed face peeking out from the scarf around his neck. "Huh..." He continued grinning, the dog frowning slightly as the kid stared at him. "Weird..."

There was a rustling noise, and Grim appeared from behind Joey with wide eyes. Ignoring 'jump' that came from the others as he did so, he grinned. "Would yah look at that... This kid likes you!" Floating in to inspect the child as it batted him back with a frown, he soon turned to look at the others again. "You should take 'm with yah! I mean," he said with a frown. "It sure ain't homey in here..."

As Kaiba stared at the shadowy thing hovering beside Joey, he frowned. "What... Is that thing..."

Bakura smirked, the expression widening into a grin. "What isn't it," he said as he leaned down to look at the magician. "Hello there..." The smile he gave it was oddly sweet compared to the usual grin, though the magician nonetheless seemed to respond positively to it. "Want to come with us?"

While the thief attempted to wait for the seemingly ponderous magician's answer, Joey tried to explain who Grim was. "Err... 'Parently his name's Grim," he started fairly lamely, "And... He's also my sword or somethin' like that..." He turned to see how Bakura was doing, jumping as the magician gave a smile and vanished into thin air. "W-What the! Where'd he go?"

His sword merely hovered, shrugging before it answered. "Who knows... Guess as much as 'e likes you, it's not enough to leave just yet..." Frowning a little as he brought one hand to his 'chin', the shadow's eyes narrowed. "Or maybe it's that he can't... He was smiling yea, but somethin' tells me he just wasn't ready..." Grim looked down at Joey, sighing as he began to reform into a blade. "Anyways... Way I figure," he said with a small grunt, "Me being out when you go back will just cause problems. See yah later, alright?"

As the sword vanished back into its sheath, Kaiba watched with a blank face in place to hide his confusion on the matter. Eventually, he shook his head. "I'll assume this part of the 'event'," he said as he placed heavy sarcasm on the term, "Was a result of some bad coffee and nothing more. Now then." He turned to Bakura, his usual frown in place. "How about getting us out of here, Thief."

Bakura shook his head, rolling his eyes before he turned away from the others. "My threat still holds, 'Priest'," he said with a grin. "But nonetheless... SEN!" As the gateway opened and teared through, the thief held back a laugh at Joey's shock. "After you," he said as he stepped off to the side, ignoring the light glare he got from the dog.

Blinking as the image of Malik's currently distorted basement came through, Kaiba stepped through first, inwardly smiling as the armor disappeared into a card. Stepping back from the 'gate' however, he frowned. Where was Joey... As Bakura stepped through as well, the door closing behind him, he turned his glare on the thief. "Where is he," he asked, the billionaire's tone making it clear as to how agitated he was.

The thief scowled. "How the hell would I know, he followed you-" He cut himself off, eyes drawn to a single card that sat on the ground.

His eyes followed the thief's gaze, ignoring the sound of two others entering the room as he bent down to pick it up. "...No." It was scarcely a whisper, his voice, as he stood back up and stared at the image etched on its surface. It was just as terrible, if not even more horrific than what had happened to Mokuba... At least then, he thought bitterly as he read the description of the card in his hands, it had been reversible. Instead...

Adorned with the image of Joey's recently attained body, eyes narrowed in a battle ready stance as the sword he held out seeped into Grim's image, were all the vital statistics that made up a basic duel monster card. His eyes widened slightly, the CEO using all he had to keep his hand from shaking.

'CANIS WARRIOR LV0', the card read. A 'four star', Light type monster with 1000 attack and defense. A 'Warrior/Effect' card that gained 500 attack and defense, as well as one level during each draw phase.

A card. As the others stared at his frozen form, that was his only thought. A card... Jonouchi 'Joey' Katsuya, aka 'the mutt'...

Had been turned into a playing card.


	10. Unlocked

The moment Bakura had returned, Malik lept from the couch he was on and leaped at the thief, wrapping his arms around him as the other stumbled slightly. The thief, in question, returned the embrace, but nonetheless turned to Kaiba when the CEO mentioned Joey. The look in his eyes... Malik broke from the hug, watching as Seto slowly picked up the card from the ground, unable to think of anything to say.

Ra be damned... Bakura's expression shifted, a knowing stare coming over him as Atem came into the room from behind him. "I didn't know," he said under his breath, before falling silent again. Not a clue that the 'mutt' would end up turned into a 'card' when he returned.

As Atem came in and looked past the two, he initially held a weak, but partially cheery expression on his face. "Kaib-" He froze however, the smile quickly faded as he spotted the card. "Oh dear Ra," he muttered under his breath. A wave of guilt came over him as he recalled the ritual that he would have used had he caught the poisoning in time. It would have been simple, something that could have prevented all of this...

But as he walked over, he knew full well that had he attempted that during the time that the others left for the Shadow Realm, the preparations would have taken too long and Joey would have died. As he moved, he attempted to ignore the glare that Kaiba was sending him, instead listening as the CEO turned to hand him the card. "So... You're Atem," he said with an expression of sorrow hidden beneath his usual cold 'poker face'. As Atem took the card with wide eyes, Kaiba narrowed his and continued. "A few years ago," he began, "This would have all been some twisted, nightmare-ish hallucination in my opinion. A sick dream that I wasn't waking up out of." He clenched his fists, watching as the teen that was, from what he could tell, eye to eye with him in terms of height stared at the card. "Something tells me you're the only one capable of this other than him," he said as Bakura briefly tensed. "But you WILL do it. Summon him, 'Pharaoh'," he said with a sneer. "And now."

He became silent, eyes drifting towards Bakura and Malik as the tomb robber merely looked back with the same expression he'd gained when he saw the card. "You should do as he says, Pharaoh." The teen continued to remain silent as Bakura pulled his partner close, staring at the card with a look not unlike someone who had failed a dear friend. Finally, turning the card to a clear space on the ground, he steeled himself and regained a stern expression. "IW," he called in Egyptian, his voice as powerful as it had been as a pharaoh 3000 years before, "CANIS WARRIOR, LV0!" He winced as the card vanished in a blinding light, appearing to crumble in his hands as 'something' shot to the floor. He grabbed his arm, holding it steady as he bit his lip; this needed to be a permanent summon, he told himself. Long lasting, enough that the only thing sending him back to that place would be a fatal wound!

The light faded as Joey's form was revealed, looking around with a raised eyebrow as the taller collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "Nyeh..." He blinked, turning to each of the others before frowning slightly. "Was... There a delay in th' door 'r somethin'? It took a while tah get here..."

"Katsuya..." Kaiba stared, before regaining his composure and usual 'stare' with a blink. It had worked, he thought to himself with a mental shake of the head. It had gone against all known laws of science and logic, and yet it had still worked.

He was pulled from these thoughts when the dog decided to yell at him for his efforts. "Hey! I told yah not teh call me that!"

"Whatever, Mutt," he said with a snort. Things never changed, it would seem. The CEO crossed his arms, watching as Malik moved to pull the passed out form of Atem to a couch as he glared at Joey.

"Pssht!" The dog turned, Malik dropping his voice to a cautious whisper. "Joey, you're gonna wake up everyone in the house!" As he adjusted Atem's fairly heavy 'dead weight', he turned to the pair with a smirk. "Just skip the bickering and make out already, that or go to sleep!"

Bakura smirked, leaning over to Malik as it grew into a grin. "Making out..? That gives me an idea..." A few seconds later, he was smacked over the head by the teen, wincing, but still smirking as he moved to take a seat in a nearby chair.

While this was going on, Kaiba merely rolled his eyes, before looking at Malik in a way that made it seem as if he was willing him to die on the spot. "Actually, I intend to leave home in the next hour," he said, seemingly unaffected by the standard exhaustion that came with traveling in the Shadow Realm. "Provided someone agrees to come," he added, giving a glance at Joey as he moved on. "After all, I doubt that an exchange can really be possible after all of... This," he finished, distaste clear in his voice.

"Hn..." The dog frowned, taking a seat on the couch before removing his helmet to scratch his head. What was under it was essentially a dog's head with his hair on it- though his ears, which would ordinarily point upwards, seemed to fold over slightly due to the helmet he'd been wearing. His frown deepened as he set the helmet down on his lap, pondering Kaiba's words; he had a point after all. The exchange was... Pretty much impossible now, wasn't it? Unless... He looked up, a look of dawning realization on his face as he was about to ask Bakura something. At least, he was, before Kaiba's words made him frown yet again, as well as duck down when the teen messily ruffled his hair.

Bakura had been looking at the dog since the helmet came off, smirking as Kaiba did this. "Nice ears Mutt," the CEO said, ignoring the squawk-like sounding complaints as he stopped ruffling the dog's hair.

The thief guessed what Joey had been about to ask, shrugging as he stood up and headed for the stairs. "If you want a human body soon enough, we'll need a few thousand dollars and the pharaoh awake," he said as he glanced over to Kaiba. "However," he added, frowning at the ex-pharaoh's slumbering form, "Something tells me that won't be for a while."

From the couch, Seto scoffed. "Hmp. So long as it's possible, I can wait a few hours. And money is no problem... Provided I get something in return," he added as an after thought. It was almost a cover in fact, and he seemed to deliberately be avoiding Joey's gaze as he said this.

Joey in question rubbed his head. "What he said."

"Well... In the meantime, try this on for size." Bakura smirked, pulling out a deck of cards and searching through it a moment. A few seconds later, he tossed one to Joey, the dog looking at it curiously.

"Spellcaster Illusion..?" He frowned, pointing at the card as he spoke. "What th' heck is this for?"

He rolled his eyes, before explaining. "It's an illusion, you moron. Picture yourself as, to be blunt, 'yourself' for a moment. And make sure to focus your energy into it," he added, watching as Kaiba observed with skepticism.

Joey shrugged, gripping the card tight as he leaned back on the couch. "Alrigh', alrigh'... Whatever works, but this better not hurt as much as it did in the Shadow Realm!" As he said this, Kaiba appeared to tense a brief moment before returning to his usual stare. For a few seconds, nothing happened, Joey shutting his eyes. However, just as he asked if anything had happened, it glowed slightly, before a 'wave' of light rippled over him. "...Incredible," Kaiba found himself saying as the card did its work.

The others in the room stared for a few moments, but in the end, the conscious Egyptians decided, nothing would ever likely be as incredible as the look on Kaiba's face when the illusion from the card successfully re-created a solid form of Joey's human body. Bakura smirked, before moving to leave for some sleep. "Now then," he said as he walked, "Keep that thing on you at all times, and the illusion will stay." As the dog attempted to keep the flurry of 'thank-yous' he was shouting to a reasonable volume, the thief merely laughed. "As long as you don't hug me Mutt, I'll refrain from stealing that card back."

"Tch," he said with a frown, "Like I'd do somethin' like THAT." While he 'pocketed' the card, Kaiba merely snorted before remaining silent. There wasn't really much to say right now- and that being the case, he thought as the dog continued, he mind as well just not say anything at all. "Heh heh... Looks like I'm stayin' after all," the teen said with a grin, before looking back to Kaiba. "Sorry if yah thought you were takin' me back, 'rich-boy'... Business calls, righ'?"

As Kaiba ignored the next comment from Malik ('Now you can go make out, or whatever else you guys do!'), he shook his head. "As if 'business' is restricted to Japan, Mutt." He moved to leave the room, arms at his sides as he continued. "I can do plenty using the computer. Which reminds me," he added with a frown, moving past Bakura to the hall before turning back. "I need to contact Mokuba before he starts digging through Japan with a steamroller for me." He smirked, leveling a gaze at Joey as the blond paled. "You, Mutt, can bring the rest of my bags to my room."

For a moment, it looked like he was going to respond rudely, but, again for a moment, the dog blinked as he caught a certain 'look' in the billionaire's eye. Inwardly grinning as he realized the intent behind the comment, he quickly returned to his usual practice of bantering. "Hey! I ain't here teh carry your luggage!" Joey hopped off the couch, running after the CEO as he turned and headed upstairs. "Get back here!"

As the pair took off, Bakura sent a smirk to Malik, before walking back to where the boy was standing. "Well," he said as he pulled the teen close, eliciting a wide-eyed look of shock for a brief moment as he chuckled. "Now that we're alone..."

"Oh-ho..! No no no no no. No," he said, as he nodded over at the thief. "What are you going to do if he wakes up, tell him tha- Mn!" He flinched briefly as Bakura roughly pressed his lips against Malik's, the teen on the couch not even moving an inch. "Mnng..." He struggled a moment, before soon melting into the kiss and breaking away for air. "Gods and Goddesses 'Kura," he said with a smirk. "I swear it, if I didn't love you I'd have to beat the ever loving crap out of you..."

The thief laughed, before leaning over the teen slightly with a soft grin. "I don't know about 'ever loving'... But I'm sure you would have." He kissed the former tomb-keeper's forehead, before smirking. "Now, I can either take you here, on top of the pharaoh, or we can go to your room..." As he said this, he frowned, drawing back as Malik gave him a glare. "What?"

Malik merely pointed to the couch, the thief blinking as he turned to see a fully awake Atem, the teen blinking at them as he rubbed his eyes with a yawn. "Did I miss anything," he said with a smile- it was actually a fairly creepy expression, Bakura thought to himself, unsure if he should congratulate the ex-pharaoh for the achievement or simply treat him as he normally would. Nonetheless, as Malik turned a bright shade of red, the thief simply laughed.

"Actually," he said with a grin, "We were about to- Ghn!" He frowned as a hand was slapped over his mouth, its owner growing even more red as the teen frowned.

Atem merely chuckled, before pulling his legs in to sit cross-legged. "It's fine... Not a problem. Although," he said as he smiled, this time sincerely, "Next time, you should probably get to the bedroom before starting."

If it was possible, Malik flushed even more, before ducking away from his partner as the thief ruffled his hair. "See," he said with a frown, ignoring Bakura's chuckling, "I told you!"

He rolled his eyes, smirking as he kissed the blond's head again. "So you did, but did it really change anything? I need to talk to the pharaoh- go upstairs, and I'll meet you in a few minutes." Malik blinked, still red as he smirked knowingly and left the room, Atem's laughter growing a little louder as the blond left.

After Malik was out of audible range however, he grew serious again, turning to face Bakura in silence. Eventually, he spoke, a look of disbelief on his face as he shook his head. "What in the name of Ra led you to the conclusion that the Shadow Realm was the answer to Shadow Sickness..?" It was ironic really- at the time of diagnosis, Bakura's split second and likely exasperation induced decision was actually the best one.

The thief sat down, frowning as he crossed his legs and arms. "Hn! If I waited for you pharaoh, he really would have died. And you see," he added with a light smirk, "As much as I enjoy seeing you squirm, I'd rather not resort to something so petty as 'death by shadows'. Besides, no doubt that any other plan would have taken twice as long..." He trailed off, before his smirk grew. "So really, you should in fact be thanking me for making the decision."

"No, no..." Atem shook his head, a smile on his face. "No, I wasn't berating you... If anything, that was the best solution." He paused momentarily, before explaining. "You see, the ritual that would have forced his 'Ka' back into his soul would have taken hours to prepare, and given how soon you were forced to leave after diagnosing the disease..." The teen sighed, smile vanishing as he turned away. "I owe you far more than a simple 'thanks', for what you did Bakura. You caught something that I should have spotted hours ago... And for that, Ra only knows how much I owe you."

Bakura smirked, before leaning back on the couch. "Damn straight, 'you owe me'. Don't think I did this for him, Atem," he said with an attempt at his usual air of sarcasm and detachment. "I only did this so that you wouldn't have another hissy fit."

The smile returned, and after a light chuckle, Atem also leaned back. "Whatever your intentions were, I still thank you." Turning his head to look at the ceiling, he continued with a sigh. "Rest assure Bakura, one day, I will repay you for this." Bakura blinked, giving the teen an odd look as he caught the severity in his tone. Just slightly awkward, he decided as he turned back to look at the ceiling as well. Just... A little. The thief blinked as Atem continued. "I just hope he doesn't hate me for how late I was," he added, voice scarcely more than a mutter as he spoke. "Now that his body is entirely made of shadows, a flesh body is impossible... All it would essentially do is re-create his Ka at this point..."

"Hn," he said with a frown. "So you can't do the pounds of chemicals ritual for him then." He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "It would figure that it wasn't that easy..."

Atem nodded, sitting up again. "No, I can't... You were a spirit. True, your 'Ka' was still considered a body, but because it wasn't 'physical' by this world's standards, and because you had already died, you were still technically a ghost. Regardless of residing in the Shadow Realm. Joey however," he said with another sigh, slumping slightly from the guilt. "Is completely shadow. 'Shadow Sickness', you see, is a disease that kills its victims by turning them into, as the name implies, shadows. However," he said, turning to look at Bakura with a more severe expression, "It is not the shadows that do this directly. Rather, the loss of physical organs, and other necessary tissues, that have already evaporated into shadows that kills them. It strikes the brain first, moving slowly before completing the conversion of the head and moving down. It's an extremely slow process, that would normally take days, or months even, to complete. But," he said, frowning slightly, "If one were to expose the victim to shadows, the process would speed up. As time sits at a standstill there, and shadows themselves are obviously tied to it, the disease would be able to move rapidly enough for the lack of a brain, heart, or any other organ that is converted, to affect the still human body. In a sense," he finished, "You can accurately say that rather than dying and likely being devoured by Ammit when the shadows weigh the heart down, the body would be completely converted into Shadows, not be killed, and thus become a 'Duel Monster' in the most basic of terms."

The thief frowned. "Meaning that his body is just as solid as our own... Hn! It would figure." As Atem moved to head upstairs, Bakura pulled him back, frowning. "One more thing- while in the Shadow Realm, the Mutt's 'Ka' came with a 'protector', something that called the mongrel his 'charge'." He pressed on, leaning against the couch again. "I don't suppose that the one who served time in the afterlife with 'Thoth, God of Wisdom' would know the answer to that, now would he," he asked sarcastically.

"A 'protector'?" Atem blinked, ignoring the comment on Thoth (Quite honestly, the god was a bit of a stiff). Taking his seat again and bringing a hand to his chin, he gave the thief a curious glance. "Could you describe him?"

He blinked, before frowning. "How to describe him... I suppose you could say he was entirely made out of smoke. Claimed to be called Grim, or 'grimmy' or something..."

Atem blinked. "A shadow made out of smoke..." Come to think of it, the teen thought, there had been a shadow or sorts emanating from Joey's sword when he'd been in his 'card form'. He thought back, mind drifting to memories of the 'Fields'. "Now that I think about it," he said with a light, searching frown as he recalled a 'bird' he'd met, "There was someone who had a partner similar to that in the area I resided in at Aaru." He turned back from where he'd been staring at the wall in thought, continuing. "He took the form of a large toothed bird, apparently from an 'archtype' known as 'The Fabled; in fact, he was required to meet with any others of that 'archytype' each week." The teen coughed, before getting back on subject. "'Rubyruda' as he called himself, or 'Ruda' rather, had with him a small imp who called himself his 'Protector'. He was quite small however, only about two feet tall..." He rubbed his head, laughing a few moments as he went on. "And to top it off, for all that he tried to keep Ruda from doing anything potentially dangerous, he failed miserably for it. He was quite paranoid."

Before Bakura could say anything on this, the ex-pharaoh spoke still more, now frowning. "From what I gathered, 'Ruby' as the imp was called, had been always present within Ruda's soul, as a separate, almost pre-programed entity so to speak. In fact," he added, a look of dawning coming over him as he leaned back against the couch, "He mentioned that occasionally in life, he'd managed to communicate with his partner a few times... When he was young he thought the voice an imaginary friend but..." He trailed off, finishing off as he looked to Bakura with wide eyes. "But later in life thought himself insane..."

"Oh ho ho!" Beside him, the thief grinned. "That sounds like someone I know... Which means that Marik," he said, possibly to himself more than to Atem, "Is Malik's protector rather than a personality..." He appeared to be forgetting about the fact that Marik had been completely insane and psychopathic for the moment, possibly in lieu of the looks that Ryou had constantly sent himself and Malik when they were in the same room. Or rather, the looks he sent to Malik himself.

Atem frowned, biting his lip. "I wouldn't be too sure of that..." Crossing his arms, he attempted to find a way to explain this without possibly having the thief come after him for raising false hopes... He only had one outfit after all, what happened if he decided to steal his clothes in retaliation or something? "True," he finally began, "It could be that, but DID is more often than not an issue of personality rather than split souls; there were many people in the Fields who had DID in life, and the condition either persisted or simply vanished- and they did not have protectors or chargers. I mean," he added, turning away nervously. "There IS a way to check but..."

He sighed. "I know it's not likely Atem," Bakura said, idly smirking as the ex-pharaoh jumped with his use of the teen's given name. "But the fact is, as crazy as he was in the end, Marik was also the closest thing that Malik had for a friend as a child." The thief leaned forward, scoffing. "Look at how low I've sunk, I'm 'caring' for another human being. Pathetic..."

Holding back a concerned smile, Atem nodded slightly. "If you like... We can go through with the test. It's actually quite simple but..." He paused, frowning before he went on. "I'm worried about the process... You recal how Malik, Ryou, and myself entered the Shadow Realm to seek you out?"

There was a nod. "It's not something you easily forget."

Atem also nodded, continuing at a slower pace, as though hoping that he wouldn't be slapped in the face for what he was going to suggest. However, it really WAS the only test they could use; so it was truly all or nothing. "Essentially, we will do the same thing with Malik. Except within his soul, in his body." Before Bakura could question further, the teen clarified. "Normally when you enter a soul room, there are no visible doors; there is one, however, if you look hard enough, that leads to a hall of sorts within it. We would be placing ourselves just outside this door, moving past the hall to find the room containing his Ka." He took a breath, moving on with the details. "If there is more than one presence," he stated with a calm tone, "Then you are right about Marik being Malik's protector. If not..." A sigh. "Then you are quite wrong.

"...And how will this affect Malik," the thief said, a look of doubt clearly across his face. He would need to talk to Malik about this... While he was fairly certain that the Egyptian would be more than willing, he himself was still reluctant.

He shook his head. "No, of course not. The problem is, the less aware he is of our presence, the better. Otherwise," he warned, "Provided there is in fact a protector, and it is Marik, he's more than likely to set a trap in the soul for us." As Bakura made to argue, he shook his head more roughly. "Invasion of the soul, however easy, is never a welcome act for a second entity within it, and never taken lightly. You and I both know this, more than most could possibly guess, as I'm sure you know." He sighed as Bakura frowned, clearly against it. "I know you don't want to do this without his permission," the teen began, looking at the thief sadly. "But the fact is, if either of us were to die inside Malik's soul, it would have horrific effects on it upon his own death. As I said," he continued, "The process is simple. But very, very dangerous."

There was silence, before Bakura sighed, turning to the ex-pharaoh with a narrowed gaze. "...Are you well rested," he finally said after a few moments of silence. "From what I can tell of this, the best time would be while he's asleep."

"Of course." Atem nodded, before smiling lightly. "From what I can tell, I've been unconscious for a majority of the evening."

Bakura nodded, before grinning. "Right. And by now, I can almost guarantee that the priest and his mutt are moving about as much as rabbits up there..." He trailed off, holding back a laugh as Atem blinked.

"Ahh, so you did use that card..." He appeared to disappear into his thoughts again, staring at the ceiling. "I hope it doesn't fall off half way through," he muttered to himself as Bakura held back a snicker at the words. "That would be... Terrible..." Having spent just over 3000 years of 'afterlife' on an island filled with likely very 'extra-pair' oriented, sex driven birds, this wasn't really strange any more.

He still wasn't looking though. Beside him, Bakura burst into a fit of laughter. "OH! I could just imagine that happening too!"

Atem rubbed his head. "Aha... Yea..." Shaking his head, he pulled out the spell cards he'd gathered prior Bakura's 'rescue'. "In any case... How long do you think Bakura will be asleep?"

He shrugged. "I'll go upstairs and check... Either he fell asleep, or he's still awake and waiting for me. Hopefully the former." As the ex-pharaoh nodded and sorted through the cards for what they'd need, Bakura slipped upstairs and into Malik's room. Silently approaching the teen, he quietly put a hand on him. Not tensing as Malik muttered something, he kissed his forehead. "Shhh," he whispered softly, "Go back to sleep..." Leaving the room and returning to the basement as Atem was placing cards on the table, he gave the ex-pharaoh a curt nod. "He's not waking up for a few hours."

"Good..." The teen nodded, before muttering something in Egyptian as placed a hand on the first of three cards he'd put on the table. "Contact Soul," he said, Bakura raising an eyebrow as nothing apparently happened. Atem then took a second card, placing it on the first. "Soul Rope," he muttered, again, no visible reaction happening. Lastly, he took the third card and placed it over top. "Different Dimension Gate." Finally, something happened; from the three cards, a small, door-like portal appeared, and Atem turned to Bakura with a stern nod. "We will need to enter body and all- that way, our souls will remain relatively undetectable from anything inside."

The thief nodded, walking towards the portal. "Alright then." Not bothering to look back at the ex-pharaoh beside him, he jumped in, soon finding himself in a relatively dark, stone hall. It didn't take long before he was joined by Atem, the teen whispering quietly as he looked around.

He first motioned to the door behind them, voice kept as low as possible. "That's the door to the Ren, Ba, and Ib, the main portions of his soul," he said before pointing down the hall. "Malik's Sheut, like all others, is constantly present in his shadow... His Akh is what binds the soul together, and is thereby inaccessible, and his Ka," he finished, "Is down this hall in a separate room. However..." Atem brought his hand back to his side, turning to Bakura. "I have a feeling that there are already multiple defenses in place, not unlike the tombs you yourself are so familiar with."

Bakura scoffed, though the sound was kept relatively silent. "Hn... So then," he said as he moved to squint down the hall, "How are we supposed to find this second presence?" There appeared to be a few torches lining the hall, and if he looked closely, hieroglyphs and pictures carved into the wall.

"That's the simple part," Atem told him, keeping his spell cards close. "At the end of the hall, we'll find a door bearing the image of the Ka on it. What we need to do," the teen said as he turned, facing Bakura, "Is open that, and look inside the room- any others existing in Malik's soul will be inside that room. Though... If you don't mind..." He scratched his cheek, turning away. "This is probably going to be simpler for you than me..."

He snorted. "The pharaoh doesn't know how to break into a tomb, how 'surprising'," he said as he rolled his eyes. "I'll go first... Follow me." As he began to make his way down the 'ancient', tomb-like halls, Atem merely followed, careful not to make a sound.

Deep within the bowels of Malik's soul, a contented sigh could be heard by only one being; and that was the one giving it. True, he reminded himself bitterly, he had been thrown back so roughly during Battle City that the door he'd been using to take over for Malik was sealed tight. Rather, sealed to tightly for him to leave... But still, Marik though as he sipped from an illusionary glass of wine in an equally illusionary golden throne, he grinned. Give it time, he told himself. His charge would need him again someday... Until then, even without the incredible ability to truly feel pleasure and pain, he would attempt to re-create it in his 'room' as best he could.

While the target of Bakura and Atem's sneaking enjoyed the false tastes of red, oddly blood-like wine, they themselves were still traveling down the nostalgia inducing halls to the 'Ka Room'. It felt, Bakura thought to himself, as though he was in Egypt of 3000 years prior once more, breaking into the pharaoh's tomb to get a hold of priceless treasures inside. Ironically enough, he thought to himself as he looked back at the silently following ex-pharaoh, it was Atem's tomb he'd been caught robbing when he was sealed in the ring- Apparently the apprentice of the priest he'd bested once before had been doing more than just mourning his death during the years he'd been gone.

Looking at the walls, it didn't take long to realize what the images and texts were detailing. Although the ability to read was not common knowledge for 'thieves' 3000 years ago, it had been something he'd taught himself. It made things much more interesting, he decided, when robbing tombs, as it meant he could laugh at the inaccuracies that were made about his soon to be robbed victim's life. Depicted on the walls were carvings of Malik, it seemed. Specifically however, they were tales of his childhood, his past. Even as the ground and ceiling became rough, the walls remained as smooth and cared for as a stone that had been carved that very moment.

The thief slowed down slightly, the lights dimming occasionally as they walked. Though they had made it this far, he was fairly certain, given the images depicted on the walls, that they weren't anywhere near the door just yet. And while they hadn't come across any traps just yet, they had no way of knowing what they could find up ahead.

As Bakura slowed down, Atem found himself reading snippets of Malik's past with grim, if not unintentional curiosity. So far, what he read was... Alright he supposed. Not the best life by far, given that it was completely lived out underground, but alright nonetheless, if not filled with a sort of neutrality that the ex-pharaoh felt was reflected by the soft, glowing light around them.

And then, from what he could tell from the 'date' carved above the image in a signature like fashion, the light had almost gone black. Malik was ten years old at the time... And as Atem bit his lip and turned away, he tried not to think too hard about the pain that the walls depicted him in. He needed to steel his mind, and stop letting it wander- if he wasn't careful, he reminded himself as he followed behind Bakura, whatever existed here could catch him.

Suddenly, Bakura stopped, putting an arm out to prevent the ex-pharaoh from moving any further. "Stop- look down," he said with a harsh whisper, pointing to a small 'slit' in the floor. "There's a trigger nearby- that hole is where the trap will either come from, or end up." He slowly moved his arm back down, before taking cautious steps forwards. "Follow my exact footing, understand? And whatever you do, do NOT touch the walls..."

"Understood," he said with a whisper, nodding as he followed the thief step for step. He had a nasty feeling about these traps- regardless of whether or not 'Marik' was a separate entity or a personality, it was highly likely that the defenses had been made when he was in control. And knowing that Marik and Malik both used a card deck centered entirely around physical torture... He swallowed, focusing on the task at hand rather than pondering the pain any traps would likely inflict.

As the hall became darker, Bakura abruptly 'stumbled', tripping uncharacteristically before converting the fall into a light-weighted somersault and landing a few feet a way, kneeling. The teen became completely silent, sitting there for a few moments before standing up. Behind him, Atem had also frozen. The thief wasn't saying anything, but all the same, it would be essentially impossible for him to recreate that stunt; if something happened-

"Shit..." Bakura tensed, ears faintly detecting a click-click-click-click-cli- His eyes widened, before he charged over to Atem and grabbed the teen's arm. "If there was ever a time to run pharaoh, now is it! Move!" Atem nodded, numbly being pulled along as the thief bolted down the hall. As they ran, he hazarded a glance behind him only to find himself running quicker; as a short, ear-splitting sound cracked behind them they finally stopped, catching their breath as they watched rain of needles fall to the ground harmlessly.

Atem swallowed, an audible gulp escaping him as he turned to look at Bakura. "What.. What was that," he finally rasped out, the sound coming out as a half shout, half whisper. "Tombs don't have anything resembling incendiaries let alone explosives..." Before he could be told off for calling a hail of needles a 'bomb', he continued. "That sound... That was NOT the sound of needles being released..."

The thief scowled, before giving his own answer. "It wasn't a ticking bomb you heard Atem, it was gears clicking!" He slumped against the wall, the light far brighter here than it had been before. "And to answer your question, 'I don't know'. Probably something Marik did," he said with a growl. "Knowing the maniac, he figured that if a poisoned rain of needles didn't kill any intruders, then whatever triggered it would."

"Gears..." He winced, looking to Bakura before continuing. "If gears were moving..." The teen looked around, careful not to touch the walls before sighing. "I triggered something, didn't I..." If that had happened, would the supposed 'second being' in Malik's soul now be aware of them? He didn't doubt that the trap had been triggered by himself at least. After all- this was Bakura's main element. A tomb, and a soul, two very key ingredients to the Thief King's former 'career'.

Bakura bit his lip, frowning. "Actually... I have to admit that the trap was my fault..." The thief turned away, eyes drifting over the scenes depicting Malik's time before arriving in Tokyo; specifically, the days he was above ground. From the looks of the one beside him however, bearing a plane, they were coming close to 'Battle City'. "I was... Distracted," he said quietly, "By the hieroglyphs..."

The teen blinked, thinking back to what had been on the walls near the trap. It had been dark... But the scenes they'd seen were quite clearly from when... Atem's eyes widened slightly, biting the inside of his cheek. It was bad enough to come across the scenes of Malik's 'initiation' really; but to come over the scenes where Marik first took full control... "Ah..." He nodded slightly, silently wondering what he was supposed to say. "Those ones..."

He stood up, brushing some dust from his robes with a blank, but slightly grim expression on his face. "Malik never told me about the initiation, nor the events after he first returned from the surface so..." He ran a hand over the walls, idly noting that they'd become tiled rather than solid stone. "We're getting closer..."

Atem nodded. "Indeed," he said with a whisper, "From what I can tell, this is directly before the Battle City preliminaries..." Calculating the times in his head, he nodded again, as though to himself. "That should mean we're only two, three 'years' from the door.

As the pair looked down the hall, they both frowned. From what they could tell, there was still a lot of darkness in it- it didn't take much to figure out that the light in the halls corresponded to the mood during each memory. As Bakura gave an odd look to him, the teen nodded again. "You've noticed the lighting I assume," he said, before turning to face the hall. "And if your thoughts on the matter are similar to mine..."

"Then we both want a light at the end of the tunnel," the thief finished. With that, they continued on, treading lightly as they returned to the silent trek in Malik's soul.


	11. Steal

In the room that held Malik's Ka, a loud shout of anger had sounded about the walls, along with a clatter and smashing of glass was a wineglass shattered against the wall. "Damn it! Damn it damn it damn it!" Marik snarled as he cursed the unseen intruders that triggered his trap. "Who dares... who DARES..." Seething, he slowly allowed the image of the wineglass and now spilled wine to evaporate, before returning to his seat on the 'throne' with a scowl. This was HIS domain, HIS room. And this place that it sat in, it was HIS charge's soul! A few moments later, he grinned madly as he recalled what trap had been triggered. "Hnhnhnhnhnhn... They won't make it far, provided they made it at all..."

It took a while, before the pair had passed from the events of 'Battle City'. By this point, Atem was in completely foreign territory yet again in terms of Malik's mind, having no clue as to the events that occurred afterward. He looked around the wall, a majority of the hieroglyphs faded and incomplete. "I wonder," he said as he followed behind Bakura, "What these are supposed to say..."

"Atem!" The teen was pulled from his thoughts by a harsh sound from Bakura, the thief scowling as he turned to him for a moment. "Pay attention to where you're walking!"

He blinked, silent for a few moments as he resisted the urge to look again. "Ah... Alright then..." Luckily enough, or unluckily depending on the views, the moment he did turn to look again, the lights fell to almost complete darkness. "Ah!" He jumped, before turning to watch as Bakura stared at the walls in silence. "...What is it?"

Bakura shook his head, continuing on as the darkness was replaced by a dim light. "It's nothing," he said, the words coming out all too quickly. After a few moments, Atem thought he heard him say something else however. "All it was," the teen thought Bakura said, "Was something to give me more incentive in murdering 'Zorc'."

As the light continued to stay dim for the next stretch of hall, Atem decided to do as the thief said and drop the subject. Perhaps, he thought as they moved on, this was just something he couldn't fix.

The silence lasted for what felt like hours, the light eventually brightening again before becoming dim once more. It wasn't until he bumped into Bakura however, that he realized they were there.

The light was dim, faded. Recovering, most likely, from the pitch black darkness they'd just moved through. The pair looked up at the door, both frowning at it's enormous golden visage. "This... Is not a 'Ka' door," Atem said with a frown. "Not completely..."

It was covered, almost completely, with images of death and warnings in hieroglyphs. The main theme appeared to be of a clawed, demonic man riding a sphinx however, as its image quickly devoured any other carved 'people' in the design. Oddly enough, the head of the sphinx resembled Malik, while the hairstyle that its demonic rider resembled.. Bakura's frown deepened at the image, as a feeling of heavy weight not unlike possession came over the pair. "Can you feel that," he asked the ex-pharaoh, watching as he nodded.

"I can..." He handed a few cards to the thief, not taking his eyes off the door. "I brought these in case you were right... It would appear we're about to need them." He swallowed, a rumbling sound coming from the door as a deep feeling of loathing and rage came to wrap itself around them. "I just hope it's enough," he added as the heavy feeling increased to a cold, almost electric pulse and the light vanished completely.

"He knows we're here, doesn't he," Bakura said with a sarcastic drawl. "And here I thought we were going to actually make it without problems..."

"Something tells me," the ex-pharaoh said as a crack appeared in the door, "That by the time that happens, it won't matter anymore."

Marik paced his 'chamber', scowling as he occasionally threw some knives at the wall. "Who the hell would come in here," he wondered aloud, stabbing his throne with a duplicate of the millennium rod a few times. "Who would WANT to come here..." The spirit growled, before throwing the 'millennium rod' into the wall and watching the illusion disappear. Murderers... Thieves, ENEMIES, someone with nothing better to do than poke holes and set fire to his charge's soul! Someone with nothing better to do than torment him, someone like... No, he thought, crossing his arms. "What would that lame excuse for a 'pharaoh' possibly want with my charge?" Obviously something, his obsessive mind decided. After all, there was no one else who would EVER have the GALL to break into a soul like this, he was certain of it!

He stopped his pacing, turning to face his door with a sadistic grin. "So there's two," he said as he reached out with his power over the room, shivering with the idea of what he would do to these intruders. A dark smirk came over his face as he recognized both. "They want a game do they?" He cackled, raising his voice for the others to hear. "IF IT'S A GAME YOU WANT, IT'S A GAME YOU'LL GET!"

"SWORDS OF REVEALING LIGHT!" The door stopped cracking, the three blades appearing from the card Atem held and surrounding the three in light. The image of hope however, was destroyed when the teen spoke again. "These will last for only six minutes, two per blade," he said, swallowing as he gathered his other cards. "'Three turns' essentially..."

As Marik's voice came through the door, Bakura scowled. "I suppose we can't just accept that voice as an 'I was right and you were wrong' pharaoh?" Watching as one of the swords began to vanish, the scowl deepened. "Do you even know how to open that door?"

Atem merely held a frightened smile on his face. "Honestly," he said as the first sword finally vanished from behind them, "I have no clue why he's still holding the illusion that it's still closed..." He shook his head, quickly growing pale as Marik continued laughing from the other side. "All we can do is wait for him to attack..."

"Well isn't that just PEACHY," the thief said with a growl. The next blade began to fade, and he looked through the cards Atem had handed him with raised eyebrow. "You're explaining where you got these once we return to the living realm, Pharaoh."

He nodded, the second sword vanishing as they were left only with the one between them in the door. "Of course." As the walls around them began to spiderweb into cracks and pebbles, he swallowed. "Ready those cards..."

The thief said nothing, merely steeling himself as the ground began to turn and shake beneath their feet. Marik's voice sounded through the room, and the third blade slowly began to vanish as the halls continued to crumble. "Let the games begin," he shouted with the same manic expression he held in Battle City years before, "YOUR HIGHNESSES!"

The third blade vanished, Atem's voice sounding through the room once more. "Electro Magnetic Shield!" An orb appeared around them, seemingly centered on the ex-pharaoh as large chunks of the ceiling fell atop it. They crumbled and fell of the sides in dust, the walls and floor following suit until all that was left was a wall of falling dirt and clay... Even the door had vanished. "Marik!" The teen's voice echoed in the 'room', Bakura merely narrowing his eyes as he looked for signs of movement. "We know you're here! And we mean neither you nor your charge any harm!"

Bakura scoffed as a loud, disturbing cackle echoed and bounced off the shield and unseen debris in the room. "Yes, because MARIK will certainly believe that!" He shook his head, frowning as the laughter continued. "And here I thought you were less naive than your former 'light' Pharaoh, honestly..." He muttered off to himself, while the cackling continued.

As the rubble settled, the pair found themselves looking around the room with sick curiosity. It was a torture chamber, that much was certain. Ropes and metal devices of all sorts hung on the walls, a few racks and even an Iron Maiden visible along the side. Just as they were greeted with this sight however, it all faded into darkness... Before swirling into something completely different.

When the imagery changed, both saw something that made their blood run cold. Bakura stood still, an expression of fear that he hadn't known since he was 4 or 5 years old running through him in that instant. Images of the past replayed before him, his body frozen in place as the 99 others who had been present in his village walked into the smolder. "Bakura..." Was that Atem's voice? He didn't know, he wasn't paying attention. "Bakura?" The screams of his people as they were slaughtered and dropped into a pot of molten gold, gold that ran down into a series of seven molds... "Bakura! Bakura! Snap out of it!"

The shield faltered as Atem attempted to focus his attention and energies into it, willing the screams he heard around him to disappear. 'Why! Why are you doing this!' That was Tea's voice, his sub-conscious told him, she'd been the first to die in his nightmare, heart torn out by his own hands. 'How COULD you!' Tristan and Joey next, and while the latter merely became a card the former's disembodied and bloodied head was more than enough to instill the horrors of killing them both. "BAKURA," he shouted, eyes wide as he attempted in vain to get at least one person to break the illusion. "BAKURA! Remember why we came here," he screamed, face contorted with pain and fear as he struggled to focus on holding the shield. "Remember what we came to do, for Malik's sake!"

'Malik..!' The thief jolted, before snarling. "Try and pull the wool over my eyes will you..." Turning his attention to himself, he shut his eyes and focused on making the illusion loose its grip on him. "Tch..." He scowled as Kul Elna quickly vanished, only to be replaced by the apparent corpses of Atem's closest friends. "What..?" Bakura turned to the ex-pharaoh with raised eyebrows. He'd assumed the moron had broken from his illusion by now, given that he'd snapped him out of his (much to his distaste)... "What's wrong with you," he began with a growl, "Is the great 'Pharaoh' so pathetic he can't simply break an illusion himself?" Ignoring the fact that he couldn't either...

Another crack in the shield as it faltered once more, Atem's sigh of relief quickly covered by his pained expression once more. "I can't focus on two things that require complete attention!" The teen's grip tightened on the card, screams sounding about the room as the image of slaughter continued to play. "If I focus on the illusion the shield will disperse, but by focusing on the shield..." A cry of pain, before he took a few harsh and rasping gasps for air. "We need to find where he's hiding... Force him to lose his grip on the room..."

Bakura stared at him, before turning to the room and gritting his teeth. The shouts were even getting to him now... 'You did this-' 'WHY! WHY ARE YOU HURTING US?' 'No.. NO! Don't c-' 'STOP!' He turned as the teen shuddered under the pressure, knee's buckling as the screams of all he knew, past and present, turned against him. Watching as the shield gave another shudder, he grabbed the pharaoh by the shirt and pulled him up before slapping him across the face. "Get a hold of yourself," he snarled, Atem staring back with wide (if not immensely confused) eyes. "We both entered this place Atem, and I for one intend to leave it with you as well!" He dropped him to the ground, watching as their shield momentarily gained strength before spitting at the ground. "Unless you think Malik can handle a 'Chicken' in his soul."

"I am NOT a chicken!" The card in Atem's hands pulsed, still more energy pouring into the card as the thief merely grinned. Abruptly however, he stopped when he spotted a card by Bakura's feet. "That card... Which one was that..?"

He blinked, picking it up before smirking. "Just what we need..." Bakura held it forwards, before laughing madly. "I cast," he stated in Egyptian with a confident grin, "The Eye of Truth!"

A loud and aggravated scream pierced the room as the card was summoned, shadows and illusions whirling as they fled from the spot. It was almost instant, the reaction. The darkness and torture devices all vanished to be replaced with clean, smooth stone, that of a simple home in Egypt. Pillars rose along the walls, and the ceiling curved upwards into a dome bearing the mural of not the 'demon' riding the sphinx as they saw on the door, but rather the two side by side, grinning. As the shadows finally receded to reveal that same sphinx chained against the wall and silent however, a small yellow form was flung against it. The creature growled, struggling to his feet before glaring at the two. "You..."

The pair stared, both sharing a glance for a brief moment. Atem gave a weak laugh, staring at the golden imp with spines in a style oddly similar to that of 'Yami Marik's hair. "That can't possibly be..." He shook his head, a slightly hysterical smile coming over his face. "There's no way that's..."

He blinked, before responding. "I think... it IS," the thief said with a grin. There was a bit more silence, before the pair burst into laughter, a large tic appearing above the tiny, two-foot tall imp's head.

"I suppose," the ex-pharaoh managed to say between breaths, "That this answers your question Bakura... Malik does indeed have a guardian..." He held a head in his hand, before wiping away some tears from the laughter, "Of the Fabled class!"

"RAAAAAHHH!" The laughter quickly ended as the teens recalled Marik's power over the room of the Ka, finding themselves slammed against the wall by a miniature of the Millennium Rod.

"Gn!" Bakura glared from his position on the wall, before sending a look to Atem. "I don't suppose we can leave now, can we? Because," he forced out as the pressure holding him against the wall increased, "Something tells me that this is as far as the hallway goes." He sneered as the 'imp' form that was Marik pulled up an illusion, soon resembling the 'demon' they'd seen on the ceiling and door.

Atem gave a weak laugh, before it was followed by a groan of pain. "Well," he said as he attempted to turn his head, "If we could reach my cards..." He trailed off, arms held rather firmly on the walls in a 'star' position. "You see where we stand with that, aha..."

The imp, now 'demon' grinned viciously as he moved. "Now then, what are you two SCUM doing in MY charge's soul?"

Against the wall, Bakura scoffed at the familiar possessiveness being displayed. "Oh, nothing really, just deciding whether or not you're the result of a mental disorder or not..."

Before Marik could respond (As it was, he looked livid at the comment), Atem butted in with a gasping attempt at conversation. "We also came because," he said with a wince as he was pushed further into the wall, "In order to grant you a body we must be able to tell you apart from the rest of the Ka..." Struggling to breath as Marik continued to increase the pressure, his voice came out as little more than a rasping and desperate scream as he finished. "It... It would be easier," he managed to get out, "For you to protect Malik that way? Wouldn't it?" There was a final -crunch- before Atem was dropped to the ground, struggling for breath.

Bakura looked down with narrowed eyes, gritting his teeth as he turned his attention from the gravely injured ex-pharaoh to Marik. "Well aren't you so 'POWERFUL'," he said with a sneer, "Trapping us in the only part of the soul that you freely control. You're more pathetic than your Ka form, which," he added with disgust, "Is far more suitable to your being than this 'demon'. Gkh!" He choked, the same crushing sensation coming over him as it had Atem early on.

"And why should I trust YOU," the demon said with a snarl. "You're the reasons why I'm here! The reasons why I need to protect him in the first place!" Marik stalked over, a sadistic grin appearing as the room twisted into the torture chamber they'd entered yet again. Tools came down from the walls, and he cackled. "For all I know, you pieces of trash came to destroy Malik's soul completely!"

He struggled to breath, shaking his head as he struggled to his feet. To his surprise, Bakura brought an arm around him, supporting the teen's weight before turning to face Marik with a scowl. Atem blinked, but chose to ask later. "I don't... Expect anything of you," he said as he turned back, coughing. "And I'm not surprised that you don't trust us..." The teen coughed again, before continuing with a steady gaze. "But before you kill us... Think about the effects that would have on Malik for a moment." He straightened up slightly, griping Bakura's sleeve as he struggled to keep on his feet. "And consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe," he added, "We aren't against you this time."

There was a silence, before they found themselves slammed against the wall again. "LIARS," he roared, hands held towards them as he bared his teeth. "LIARS AND THIEVES!"

"I resent that comment," Bakura weakly said with a grin before finding a torture device of sorts slammed against his mouth. "Gn..."

The demon stalked around the room, pacing as he grinned evilly. "I'm going to enjoy ripping the flesh of both of you," he hissed, eyes wide with madness as he continued. "Strip by strip, before I move on to the REAL fun..."

"What are you doing!" The pair blinked as they were abruptly dropped to the ground, the demonic form of Marik turning as a fourth person entered the room. "And who..."

The others froze as Malik, hand against one of the walls frowned and entered the room. "Malik," the spirit said, before turning on Bakura and Atem. "You're just in time! These fools invaded your soul, and now I'm going to finish them for good!" Marik's grin quickly fell as his charge paled, running to stand between him and the others. "It's a protector's job you know," he added with an insane cackle. "Move aside! These scum need to die, NOW!"

He shook his head, Bakura and Atem watching as Malik scowled. "Like hell I'm letting you do that!" He narrowed his eyes, watching as his so-called 'protector' continued to scowl. He didn't even know where he was- he'd just woken up to look for Atem and Bakura and found nothing but some weird, window sized portal in his basement. After looking at the walls however, he had an idea of where he was. "In fact," he said with a nervous swallow, "You WON'T do that, Marik!"

Marik tensed, his reaction not unlike Grim's had been when the smoke cloud was told by Joey to 'shut up'. While Atem searched around for the card they needed as he de-activated the one that tied him there, Bakura slowly grinned. "Of course... Now that we know what you are, you have no choice but to listen to a command now, don't you..."

While Malik gained a slightly more confident stance at that, his 'protector' merely snarled. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you," he said with a growl, breathing hitched as the room seemed to melt to his command. "I don't care how many orders I have to go against, so long as it means his heart will stay lighter than a feather!" He waved a hand as the floor began to crumble, the others paling as he began cackling. "Even if it means damning myself to the pits of Ammit's stomach! I'll do ANYTHING!"

The floor continued crumbling away, before Bakura and Malik abruptly found themselves grabbed by Atem. "Hold on tight," he shouted, a single card in his hand as Marik began to send the tools and knives from the wall towards them. "RETURN FROM THE DIFFERENT DIMENSION!"

There was a swirl of light and a scream of rage, but a few seconds later the three found themselves collapsed on the floor of Malik's basement. "Guys," a small crushed voice said, Malik and Bakura blinking as they both looked down at the person they were sitting on. "Please move..." Gasping for air, Atem stumbled as Mailk and Bakura helped him up.

"The next time," the thief managed to gasp out as he took a seat on the couch, "You decide to attempt civility with 'Marik'," he said with a weak scowl, "I will personally make sure that anything in your possession mysteriously goes missing before hacking off your limbs with a butter knife!"

Atem merely chuckled, leaning against the couch as well. "Alright Bakura," he said between gasps, watching as Malik collapsed on top of the thief. "Alright..."

As Malik lay beside and on top of Bakura, he attempted to regain his breath before speaking. "That..." He swallowed, before shaking his head slightly. "That was Marik, wasn't he..." The others turned to him in silence, not completely knowing what to say as he continued. "How..." Ignoring the question of how he'd been wandering his own soul, he slowly shook his head as he turned to the others.

"It appears he is not as much a second personality as a 'second soul," Atem began, glancing at Bakura. "Perhaps you should explain... I'm not completely certain of everything myself..."

The thief nodded, turning to Malik to retell the incident, beginning with 'Grim's appearance in the Shadow Realm. It took a while- given the clock on the wall, about an hour actually, but the blond clung to every word of it as he listened. At the end of it all, Atem was sorting through the seemingly endless collection of spell and trap cards he had with him, while Bakura sat back with his arms crossed. Atem turned as the thief finished, smiling. "So," he began, "You understand the connection between 'Charge' and 'Protector' now? Because I'm not sure he's in the mood to explain again." Not to mention the idea that Malik was Marik's 'charge' made it sound all too much like Marik owned the boy- regardless of how it was completely the reverse... So it didn't have the thief in a good mood at all. Malik nodded, before listening as Atem continued. "It explains his control obsessions, that's to be sure..." He held back a laugh. "Considering his size after all..."

Bakura turned to look at Atem for a moment, before the pair looked away and broke into a fit of laughter again. As they finally calmed down, Bakura smirked. "Now then, to get the 'little' bugger out..." As Atem began laughing again, Malik balked.

"Are you two insane!" He drew back, eyes wide. "'Out'? As in 'his own body' out? I don't want that THING running around!" The teen shook his head, scowling. "Did you see him? I didn't even recognize it as Marik when I saw him, he was fucking demonic! Not to mention at least as tall as you are now Atem!" He watched as the pair looked back at each other, before laughing again. "Why the hell are you laughing about this?"

As Atem wiped some tears from his eyes, Bakura raised a hand to prevent his partner from beating the crap out of the ex-pharaoh. "Because what you saw and what WE saw are two very different things.." He smirked, shaking his head as the image appeared in his mind again. "Even if we brought him back in something other than a human body, his true form is only about two feet tall. A weak, pathetic imp," he added with a grin. "All he was doing in your soul was hiding behind a pointless illusion!"

This apparently did nothing to help Atem calm down, as while he held his head in his hand, he continued to shake with laughter. "He even," the teen managed to get out, "He even had the same outfit, cape and all..."

"You're making it very hard to keep a decently neutral face you know," the thief said with a scowl. "Gods Atem, pull yourself together..."

Malik blinked. "Atem? You two are on a first name basis now?"

Before Atem could say much ('I don't have a last name...'), Bakura scoffed. "Hn! A slip of the tongue!" The ex-pharaoh merely shook his head, laughing as he calmed down again.

"Friends with him now 'Kura~" The blond grinned as his partner merely crossed his arms, Bakura becoming quite silent as he glared at the Egyptian. "Never thought I'd see that..."

As the former tomb-keeper continued to tease the thief, Atem tapped his shoulders. "If possible," he said as he cleared his throat, "I think we can begin the ritual to pull Marik out now." As the others turned, the teen continued. "We'll need a vessel of sorts first though, a card or something small until we can prepare the materials for a body as with Bakura.

The others fell silent, before Malik grinned. "A pig," he said, the others raising their eyebrows in response. "He's always HATED pigs!" As Bakura smirked, his partner continued grinning, the expression growing in an attempt to convince the ex-pharaoh.

Atem blinked, before sighing. "That's not a simple container.. It needs to be soulless..." He shook his head. "Not to mention," the teen added, "A corpse would rot away and fall to pieces..." He frowned as he looked at the other two. "H-Hey! Are either of you listening?" He scowled as Bakura continued talking to Malik about how impressive it would be to seal him in a pig, before sighing. "Where would we even find any live swine, this is a city..."

The teen was pulled from his thoughts as a blank card was handed to him, Bakura raising an eyebrow. "I was about to say that a card would work best," he began, before narrowing his eyes. "But where did you get that, Malik..?"

The Egyptian shrugged, watching as Atem took the card with a smile. "You never know what might come in handy... This worked right?"

At Malik's comment, Atem's smile dropped, and he stared. "But... Blank cards are meant entirely for sealing purposes..." Shaking his head in confusion, he decided to let it drop, instead placing the card on the table before taking a seat on the floor. "Now then," he said as he looked to the couple on the couch, "I need you to remain perfectly still, so it's probably best to sit on the couch rather than Bakura's lap..."

The teen blushed, his partner smirking as they moved to opposite ends of the couch. Malik closed his eyes, letting out a nervous breath as he closed his eyes. "Alright... I'm ready."

Atem also nodded, holding his palms together as he muttered quietly in Egyptian. "Great God Anubis, and Goddess Nephthys, I ask a favor in a journey of the soul," Slowly, his spirit moved, cloaked by the spell to avoid detection entered into Malik's making sure to keep his emotions and intentions cleared and to himself. In a few moments, he was standing in the same hall as before, his head brushing the ceiling as he looked himself over.

He was transparent really- in fact, Atem noted with a blink, one could scarcely discern him from the walls. From there, it was easy. He flew through the halls, wings held tight as he charged through. His body passed through any obstacles that Marik had, within the last hour, placed up in defense, leaving no evidence of his existence. Silently, he arrived at the door to the Ka room, floating inside to find Marik only to stare.

The imp, Marik having forgone his illusion for the moment, was currently sitting in his false thrown and throwing equally fake wineglasses against the opposite wall. "Hypocritical slime," he shouted as a glass hit the wall, "Overstuffed bag of shit!" Another glass slammed against the wall, Atem watching with a nervous and silent laugh as Marik shouted insults for each glass.

Eventually, the bird shook his head, stalking over to stand behind the imp and raising his arms. He swallowed. Careful now... If he was noticed before he grabbed the imp he'd be screwed...

"GAH!"

The imp was scooped up, squirming as Atem gripped him tightly and breaking for it. "Time to leave," he shouted as Marik snarled, clawing viciously at his arms.

"LET ME THE FUCK GO," he shouted, wings beating in Atem's face as the bird continued on. "LET ME GO YOU FUCKING ASS EATING CUNT!" He winced as the profanity continued, Marik moving from shouting and scratching at the bird's face to using the razor sharp teeth he'd come to love his body for. "HNNGGRAAAAH!"

The bird jolted, but tightened his hold as he flew through the halls. "Stop struggling Marik, or I'll take up the challenge of sealing you in a pig!"

Marik continued struggling, possibly more so as an almost pleading tone mixed with his incensed one. "MURDERER! LET ME GO YOU FUCKING MURDERING BASTARD!" Eyes narrowed as what could possibly be dots of tears appeared in the corners, his screaming increasing in volume. "LET ME OUT!"

Atem found himself shouting back angrily, particularly as the imp managed to take a sharp swipe at his cheek. "Please, as if I would even consider killing you!" Granted, in Marik's defense, it would have likely topped his list a number of years prior this day... He continued down the hall, the door to Malik's soul room coming into view. "I don't expect you to thank me for this, but I would hope I'm not murdered for my efforts! Now... COOPERATE!"

With that last word, Malik sat up with a jolt, almost hearing something as two beams of light shot from his chest. "What, what the hell?" He stared, an eyebrow raised incredulously as the two lights left his body, one slamming into the card, and the other hitting Atem's body with such force that it was knocked back on the floor.

"Ung..." The two on the couch blinked as Atem began to groan, holding his head. "I assume it worked," he said under his breath, the others raising their eyebrows as injuries sustained in the soul-room appeared on his body.

As if to double check, they looked over at the card, watching as an image appeared. It took a few moments... But in the end, a small imp dressed in an outfit apparently identical to 'Yami Marik's own during Battle City appeared. The two 3000 year old Egyptians burst into fits of laughter again, Malik merely grabbing the card and staring.

He was finally 'gone', he thought to himself. Marik was finally out of his mind.

As he smirked, he chose to blatantly ignore the enraged expression on the card, instead opting to laugh with the other two as well. There were things that people bonded over he supposed, pushing back the thought that Marik still would have looked better as a pig.

Apparently, one of those 'bonding activities' involved breaking into a soul and being chased out by a crazed guardian inside it, before breaking in again to seal said guardian in a card.

In hindsight, Malik decided, his life was completely fucked up.


	12. Control

It was six AM by the time the three teens had calmed down, and by this point they decided it was completely pointless to attempt to sleep. Marik's card sat firmly in his 'charge's grip, while all three sat on the couch in idle conversation.

'Idle conversation' however, abruptly took a turn to slightly more serious matters when Bakura suddenly turned to Atem with a serious stare. "Which reminds me," he said as he ended the conversation Atem had started on the 'Dark Magician'. "When I was in the shadow realm, we came across a fairly... Interesting spellcaster," he said, smirking as he recalled the meeting. The smirk faded however, as he got to the point. "Childish, took a liking to Kaiba of all people... It resembled a small Dark Magician in a way." Sitting up, he turned to face Atem completely, Malik listening in curiously. "Oddly enough, when we offered it a trip back out, he refused."

Atem blinked, before chuckling. "Kaiba? I can't really see how that happened, but in any case..." He froze suddenly, frowning. "...Odd." He put a hand to his chin, the frown deepening as his eyes narrowed in thought. "Normally when offered such an escape, a duel monster would be more than happy to take it. Did it mention why not?"

The thief shrugged. "As if I could figure out half of what it was trying to get across- from what I can tell, all it did was play games and annoy Kaiba. There was never a single word spoken," he added, before giving the ex-pharaoh an odd look. "In fact, I don't think it COULD speak."

He frowned, Malik still listening in as the latter attempted to figure out exactly where this conversation was going. "Interesting... Perhaps it was an illusion; sometimes the 'body' is an illusion cast by a duel monster to avoid close contact, hence the reason for a lack of a voice. If there was no shadow, that could be another indicator, although..." The teen fell silent a moment, before adding another idea. "What did his eyes, or face look like? That could also help."

The answer was given almost instantly. "Large, round eyes," he said as he leaned back against the couch to put an arm around Malik, "The irises were a violet-red colour, but the rest of his face was shadowed..." He frowned, almost moving his arm again but deciding against it. "Come to think of it, there was no shadow, not even in the folds of his clothing... Just on his body..." In fact... The frown deepened, and he turned to Atem. "To tell the truth, the kid looked almost like Yugi..."

At this, Malik jumped, before hopping off the couch to the other's surprise. "I... I'll be right back," he said with a tense voice, rushing up the stairs and leaving the 'Marik' card behind. "Get everyone down there when they wake up," he added with a shout, the others blinking as he left.

"Now what could that have been about..." Bakura narrowed his eyes as a sudden thought came over him, before he shook it off. Turning to look at the clock on the wall, he blinked. Eight already? That would mean-

Footsteps came down, and a familiar head of white hair poked into the room. "Good morning..." He rubbed his eyes, before jumping at the sight of Atem. "Ah... You're alright then, Atem-san?"

He nodded, rubbing his head. "Quite fine actually... Though I didn't wake up until a short while ago." There was a laugh from beside him, and the source of it grinned.

"Hah! I've been up all night, and I'm not tired at all..." Just as he said this however, he gave a yawn and scowled. "..."

Ryou smiled. "I can see that... Ah-" He stumbled as Malik pushed past him, slamming a large book on the table and flipping through it rapidly. "Er... What's that?" As he leaned over, the others followed his gaze.

The blond said nothing for a moment, before speaking. "The book of records containing the ritual I used to bring Atem back," he said continuing to flip through. "I might have found a loophole... Ryou," he shouted, the albino jumping. "What are the others doing?"

"Er... They're helping me make breakfast right now..." The others blinked, Malik staring at Ryou expectantly before the latter sighed. "Right... I'll see if we can bring the food down here when it's done then..." He disappeared upstairs, leaving Atem and Bakura to turn back to Malik.

It was the ex-pharaoh who spoke first, though he didn't say much. If anything, he was simply repeating what he'd heard so as to make sure he'd actually heard it. "A... A loophole..?"

He nodded. "Yea," he said, still flipping through. "A loophole." The teen paused as he reached the page, biting his lip before speaking again. "I'll explain when everyone's in here..."

"I see..." Atem turned away, watching as Malik carried the book to his lap and sat back on the couch, the teen leaning into his partner. "Ah, if I may Malik," he began as he caught a glimpse of Marik's card again, "Would it be too much trouble if I summoned him?" As the others gave him incredulous stares, the ex-pharaoh clarified. "I think it might be good to make a better impression on him... Leaving him in a card will only increase his hatred towards us," he continued, "And besides; we have more than enough spell cards if he tries anything." As he said the last part, he smiled, watching as Bakura turned to his partner with a slightly worried (Though fairly hidden from Atem's view) look.

The blond nodded, before handing Atem the card. "It's fine," he said, taking a deep breath. "As you said, we can handle him now."

Another nod, before Atem held the card towards the opposite couch. "Iw, The Fabled Spirit Token!" The card, like with Joey's earlier in the evening, quickly evaporated into a mist of sorts, scattering to the other side of the room to form a small, yellow-gold imp in an outfit almost identical to Malik's own. He turned, glaring with large pupil-less eyes as the spines on his head raised to give the imp a slightly more feral appearance. He did not give Atem a chance to relax from the summon of course- in fact, he instantly jumped at the ex-pharaoh with his ridiculously large teeth bared and primed for the teen's face. Atem quickly threw an arm up, wincing as the teeth sunk into it. "For the love of Ra!" He shook the arm, Marik's body flopping against the pressure of being shaken in a rather comical 'waving' motion. "I understand you're mad but is this really the time!"

Marik dug his nails into the arm, before removing his teeth to speak. "GIVE. ME. MY. BODY. BACK! GIVE IT BACK NOW YOU CUNT!" He attempted to bite him again with a screech, before finding himself thrown across the room by the force of his target's waving arm. "AAAAAHHH!"

His charge laughed, Bakura grinning as well. Deciding not to let this go on too long however, the ex-tomb keeper began searching his pockets for another 'Spellcaster's Illusion'.

"Stay away from me," Atem shouted at the hissing imp with a glare. "This form IS your body, and Malik is your CHARGE! It doesn't work the other way around," he added somewhat bitterly as he rubbed his bleeding arm.

At that moment Joey came down with a plate of bacon, placing it on the coffee table before looking at the imp with a raised eyebrow. "What th' hell's goin on down here... And what is that thing?"

He was quickly answered as Marik attempted to fling itself at Joey this time. "I AM NOT A THING, FOOL! I am MARIK! AND YOU WOULD DO WELL TO REMEMBER IT YOU FUCKER!" As the teen quickly scooted back with a shout, Malik tossed a card over to the imp.

"Here," he said with a smirk, "Catch!"

The imp did so, albeit with a glare. Soon enough, energy wrapped around from the card, and he smirked. 'Pocketing' the card, the now human Marik crossed his arms as he leered at Atem and Joey with the face he'd had during Battle City. Considerably happier in it (Given that he was no longer shouting profanities), he grinned maliciously, now his usual 5'9'' in height... Not taking the hair into consideration. "Hello there, MUTT."

Joey growled, not helping the image in any way as he clenched his fists. He quickly grinned however, when he remembered that, like himself, Marik was also under an illusion. "Tch! At least 'm taller than you in reality! Guess this makes tha' card of yours compensation!"

The grin on Marik's face grew, idly sparing a glance at the others before turning back to Joey. Atem, for the moment, was moving past to get some bandages for his arm, while Bakura was simply glaring at him wholeheartedly. Good. "Well, that doesn't matter right now, does it dog?" He moved over, easily slipping his arm past the teen's own block to pull him over by the throat. "Once a mutt, always a mutt! And is it just me, or do you smell even more like a dog than I remember?"

"Put him down, Marik." The former imp turned, scowling as Malik mimicked the expression with crossed arms. Getting no response, he continued. "I said, put the mutt down."

For a brief moment, the teen held him there, watching with idle curiosity as a cloud of dust appeared at his side. He dropped him, sneering before the expression quickly turned into a grin. "We'll talk again Mutt..."

As Marik moved to turn to Malik, the cloud shouted a few curses of his own at him. He ignored them, instead opting to hold his grin as he moved to place a hand on his charge's cheek. "Malik," he said with an eerily sweet tone, "My you've grown..." The hand was quickly snatched by the teen's partner, clutched in a tight grip that threatened to break bones.

"Don't touch him, scum," Bakura said with a snarl, before finally throwing the hand to the side. "Or believe me when I say that not even being a fragment of his soul will save you from what I have in store." For a moment, the pair continued to glare at each other in silence, before a loud, accented voice distracted all three.

The source of the voice, namely the dust cloud, was currently fussing over Joey as the teen struggled back to his feet and gasped for air. "Hey kid, kid you alright there?" He wrung his hands, a nervous smile on his face. "Yea... Sorry about not doin' anythin... Somethin' just told me that stabbing this guy in the face wouldn' do much..." He grinned, before adding, "What with him being an imp an' all..." He looked to his charge for some sort of approval on the matter, apparently taking the look of confusion as a go-ahead. "Alright then! NOW!" He turned to Marik, who raised an eyebrow at the smoke cloud. "YOU sir, have made a baaaad decision! No one crosses Grim's charge," he shouted with a flare. "NOOOOOOO ONE!"

The teen chuckled, giving Grim an amused, if not threatening look. "I wouldn't talk to the one who managed to seal Zorc into the Shadow Realm like that, 'bug'."

"Marik..." As Malik sent a glare at his 'other', Bakura scowled.

"Please," he said as he crossed his arms, "As if you could have done that without the aid of the God card."

As they said this, the shadow merely huffed. "Oh yea pal? Big words from a guy who's really only a foot tall! How about the guys who helped to KILL Zorc?" Ignoring the fact that they had failed to finish him off completely, he continued on. "Yeaaaa, that's what I thought! My kid's the best! Don't you ever think otherwise!"

Marik also scoffed, smirking. "And what exactly ARE you? A small cloud of dust tied to a worthless mutt, or something even more pathetic?" His grin gained its usual crazed and threatening tone, and he continued. "Give me one reason why I should even think of being frightened by you..."

Before the cloud could respond, Joey rubbed his head and interrupted. "Grim... Please jus' stop talkin'..." Huffing, the cloud complied, before footsteps from upstairs distracted him.

"Oh shit!" He hurriedly reformed into the sword at Joey's side, vanishing from sight into the illusion.

Again, the teen shook his head. "Maannn I am never gettin' used tah that..." As he sent a look at Marik, Joey blinked- Malik was currently holding him back, while Malik himself was in a protective hold from Bakura.

"Hn!" Marik's grin remained in place, before being replaced by a frown. "If my charge wasn't here right now, mentally cursing my existence," he began, Malik blinking at the mention of a 'mind link'. "I'd have you sliced up into MY breakfast... Hehehehe..." With that, he moved to sit down on the couch, the other two following as a result- It was plainly obvious that Malik, for his part, was not much enjoying the position of 'meat' in the sandwich of overprotective 'spaz-machines'. Particularly since Bakura and Marik had once more resumed their constant glaring.

Joey merely swallowed, before attempting to regain some confidence to speak. "Y-Yea..?" He suppressed a shudder, at the very least forcing the illusion to cover it for him. "Well, I bet I'd have you in slices before then!"

"What are you talking about Joey?" He jumped as Tea's voice came from behind the basement door, her tone clearly indicated that while it hadn't been much, she'd at least heard the last part. "I've heard you say things along the lines of beating people to a pulp, but since when have you used a knife?"

"Nyehh..." He didn't have much to say to that really...

The teen merely rubbed his head, as Tea walked in with plates and silverware. "And who's that other voice, he sounds almost like- AAAUGGH!" The woman stumbled as she attempted to regain her hold on the plates, eyes wide as she spotted Marik. "H-How! How are you even here?" As the 'protector' merely laughed madly, Malik face-palmed. Typical... Reaction...

Beside her, Joey took the plates and laughed nervously. "Haha... Yea... My thought's exactly.." As he put the dishes on the coffee table, he made sure not to look at Marik at all before turning to Tea with his nervous smile still in place. "But yah know, he hasn't done anything yet! Er... 'Sides tryin tah strangle me I guess..."

Bakura scowled, shaking his head. "Just bring the rest down here," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Atem will probably explain the rest, given that he seems to know everything anyways..."

Tea merely shook her head, running back up the stairs as she ignored Joey. "Oh my god..! I have to warn the others!" She barreled past Atem as the Egyptian in question came down with a plate full of eggs, stumbling slightly.

Coming down and holding the platter almost protectively, he laughed. "Well... That when better than expected..." His injured arm was currently tightly bound, but otherwise he seemed to be showing no reaction to being in the same room as the reason for the injury. Deciding not to waste time, He put the platter on the table before grabbing the plates and dishing up the food. "Sit down, Joey," he said with a grin. "The food will get cold!" As he passed plates to the others, he soon sat down with his own and eagerly dug into the eggs and bacon.

While Joey rubbed his head, Marik merely blinked. He looked at Atem, eyebrows raised for a few moments, before looking at the rather filled plate of food he'd just been handed. Back to the 'pharaoh'. Then the food. Pharaoh. Food. Pharaoh... He smirked, picking up his fork as he surprisingly began to eat using some manners. "I could get used to being served by the pharaoh," he said with a grin, Atem merely shaking his head.

"I'm not a pharaoh..." As Joey took a seat beside him and grabbed his plate, he blinked and turned his attention to the stairs. You couldn't hear much, but if you listened closely, there was a loud, panicking cry of 'WHAT!' from the others upstairs.

As the stampede of footsteps made their way down, Malik sent a warning look to his other-half. The protector merely shrugged, a look of faux-innocence in place. "I won't hurt them if they don't tick me off," he said matter-of-fact-ly.

Across from him, Atem laughed. "Ah, but just what would bug you right now besides the obvious," he began with a smile. "Because I have a feeling that if screaming is involved, we might have to switch rooms."

Marik merely scoffed, before stuffing a piece of bacon into his mouth. "Cheh! You'll see what pisses me off when it happens, 'Pharaoh'."

While Atem went back to his food muttering something about not having that position for a good 3000 years, Joey growled. "Yea, but I bet Malik wouldn' appreciate that at all, would 'e?"

Another scoff. "My charge will deal," he said as he smirked, Malik glaring at the teen.

"No he won't," he retorted, before the door flung open for the two girls to come in with Ryou; Mai had of course, returned to her hotel the night before. He turned, deciding not to bother waiting for Kaiba given previous experiences with the CEO. Besides, he decided as he switched his plate out for the fairly hefty tome of spells. Ignoring the frozen shock that the girls had as they stood there, he coughed. "Alright, now that everyone is here-"

He was interrupted by Tea, the others remaining in either a shocked silence or in Ryou's case, a more confused one- he'd never met Marik after all. "Not to be rude or anything," she started with a shaking tone, "But what is HE doing here?"

The target of the question grinned. "I remember you... Do you remember anything from when my charge posses-" He was cut off by his partner, a hand flung over his mouth rather quickly.

"Just shut up for now," he said with a glare. "I'm trying to talk. Anyways," he said as he ran a hand over the book he was holding. "As you know," he said nervously, "I performed a ritual last week that brought the FORMER pharaoh back from the afterlife." He said 'former' with considerable emphasis, looking at Marik for a moment before continuing on. "A ritual that seemed to take the life of Yugi in payment," he finished, the others growing silent as the topic of Yugi was brought up. The teen took a deep breath, those across from him pausing as they ate to pay attention. "As I was listening to a conversation between Bakura and Atem however, something was brought to my attention." Another breath, as well as a swallow as he went on. "As you know, in Duel Monsters a monster is often sacrificed to summon a more powerful one to the field. When this happens, the sacrificed monster is sent to the graveyard."

Atem's eyes widened as he caught on to what Malik was trying to say. "Duel monsters," he began with a tone almost meant to reassure himself, "Originally came from the Ka in a soul... The form that spirits take in the after life. So when you mention the rules of summoning, are you saying..." Beside him, Joey frowned in confusion, as did most in the room. Bakura in the meantime, looked over Malik's shoulder at the book, forgoing the glare he was constantly sending Marik for a moment as he too looked at the pages in mild curiosity.

"Yea," he said as he re-read a few lines to double check. "The book states that who ever has been sacrificed will travel, soul only, to the realm of eternal darkness. When I read this before, I had interpreted it as 'death'," he began, before closing the book. "But after the conversation, I realized that the 'Realm of the Dark' was originally another name for the Shadow Realm." a relieved smile came over him, the teen taking another deep breath before finishing. "If I'm right... Then I think that the magician that Kaiba was being followed around by in the Shadow Realm was actually Yugi's Ka!"

As Joey grinned at the prospect of Yugi being alive, Atem merely sat there, as though dis-believing. "He could be... Alive..."

While those thoughts ran through his head, Tea frowned; she'd paid more attention to the conversation than just the possibility of Yugi still living. "Hang on," she said as she held a hand out. "Kaiba?"

Serenity blinked, looking at Tea with wide eyes as Ryou did the same. "Tea," Ryou said with a raised eyebrow. "You... Did catch what Malik said about Yugi didn't you? You realize what this means right?" He didn't mean to be rude but... It was one of those things he didn't think should be skipped over.

"Well," she said as she shook her head. "I had a feeling, I mean..." The woman held an expression of worry and disbelief, still talking. "I knew it couldn't be true, that he just couldn't be dead but..." The expression died and returned to her look of confusion. "Kaiba?"

Joey rolled his eyes. "Yea yea, Kaiba, we got it! He went to the shadow realm, now can yah just shut up and listen about Yugi?"

The woman did so, staring at Joey a few seconds before Bakura rolled his eyes. "Oh calm down Mutt..." The thief turned to Tea, before smirking. "To answer your question, 'your dog' contracted Shadow Sickness, but thanks to Kaiba, and yours truly, he's fine now." The smirk grew at the woman's increasingly confused expression, while Malik merely groaned.

"Greaaat, thanks 'Kura!" He shook his head, sending him a weak glare. "Now they're gonna start freaking out about him too!"

Across from him, Joey scowled as well. "I was kinda hopin' tah keep that quiet," he muttered, before angrily taking a chunk out of his bacon.

Atem merely laughed, apparently not at all phased by the invasion of his friend's privacy. "Well," he said between bites of egg, as he allowed himself to be distracted by both the meal and the prospect of Yugi being alive, "At least now there aren't any real secrets between us all..."

From the side, Ryou took his eyes of Marik before crossing his arms. "So then," he began, the others turning to him as they realized he was still there, "I suppose some of us will need to return to the Shadow Realm then, right?"

As the girls continued to stand in silence (They never had been really involved in this before, it was all a little much now that they were...), Malik nodded. "Yea... I'm still pretty new with this whole 'Ka' and 'soul' thing, so if Atem could help..."

He was cut off, Atem still holding his wide-eyed stare as he nodded. "I would gladly help with this, Malik."

Ryou nodded, moving over to the couch. "If it's not to much trouble, I'd like to help as well..."

"Heh," Joey said with a grin. "And you can count me in too!"

Serenity balked. "Nii-san? I thought you passed out in the Shadow Realm last time!" As the others nodded, Joey turned his attention to convincing his sister to let him go. Meanwhile, others involved continued with their conversation.

"You'll need to come too Bakura," He looked over at the thief, both he and Marik grinning as the teen groaned.

He held his head in one hand, sighing. "Do I really HAVE to go in there again?" At the nod he got in response, he huffed. "Very well... But I'm doing it for the sex, not for Yugi," he said with a smirk. "Something tells me there wouldn't be any if I refused.." Tea and Serenity quickly blushed as Malik grinned in response to that, before hurriedly muttering about leaving the kettle on upstairs and leaving the room.

Joey groaned. "Maaannn stop scarin' my sister!" As Malik merely shrugged, his other-half laughing loudly now, Bakura scoffed, as if to say 'She probably knows anyway, given her usual company'.

"In any case- if you need me, you'll need a certain too-rich CEO as well." As the others nodded, Atem coughed. "Hn?" They turned as the ex-pharaoh coughed, blinking as the sight of Kaiba leaning against the door frame came into being.

The teen snorted, his arms crossed as he stood there. "Will you now," he said in response to Bakura's statement, before his eyes drifted to Marik. He frowned, eyes narrowing. This guy... Now what was he doing there?

Marik chuckled, his grin widening as he leaned back on the couch. "You're burning a hole through me, 'Seto'," he said with a laugh. "Keep that face too long, it'll freeze..." He seemed to be in a remarkably better mood having eaten 'real' food for the first time in a few years again- though even if he hadn't been, the lack of profane speech and constant shouting was still a plus.

He frowned, not moving from where he stood. "You don't even have the right to THINK of me by that name 'Marik'." As a few of the others jumped slightly at Kaiba using someone's given name for once, he ignored them. The fact was, he couldn't think of any degrading nicknames for Marik, so he didn't care to bother for the moment. "And not to change the subject, but what exactly is it that you morons need me for anyways?"

"If you were listening," Malik said as he rolled his eyes, "Then you'd know we were putting together a plan to rescue Yugi from the shadow realm."

The CEO raised an eyebrow. "The nerd? And how did he manage to get stuck in there," he said with slight humor. "Assuming it has nothing to do with duel monsters for once."

The others fell silent, Kaiba's eyes narrowing when the subject he'd brought up turned out to be oddly serious. Atem found himself breaking the silence, coughing to draw the attention of the others to him. "Actually," he said as he put his dishes down, "I thought the plan to be fairly obvious. It would be almost identical to how we retrieved Bakura after all. In fact," he said, looking at the ceiling in thought for a moment, "I would say the only difference is that it places him in the same condition as Joey."

Ryou blinked, looking at the blond a moment. "Erm... Pardon me," he said, "But what condition are you talking about?"

The teen shifted a little, before Atem sighed. "You mind as well take the card off," he said with a sad smile. "You'll have to do it before we enter the Shadow Realm anyways."

He frowned. "Yea yea, I got it..." Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out the 'Spellcaster's Illusion' card before dropping it, Marik instantly grinning while Ryou jumped. "Hnnn... Here I was gettin' used to havin' my body back," he muttered, crossing his arms.

As the image of the armored and fairly small dog appeared, Marik roared with laughter. "Oh, this is rich! The mutt really IS a mongrel! AHA!" Though he was quickly quieted down by his charge, he continued to grin as he stared, Joey visibly shrinking under it.

"What... What on earth..." Ryou blinked a few times, turning to the others for an explanation. To his surprise, it was Kaiba who answered.

"Shadow sickness," the teen stated bluntly, moving over before he fixed a stare on the others. "And do you plan on leaving any time soon, or should I just leave you morons to find him without my apparently 'much needed' help?" Idly, he took a seat on one of the chairs to grab a few cards out of his briefcase. From what he'd gathered, spells worked plenty well in that 'world', and given the 'power level' Joey had, he wasn't about to let HIS mutt get squished by anything with an attack level above 1000.

Atem sorted through his cards, nodding at Kaiba's suggestion. "We'll leave soon enough," he said as he flipped through them. "I don't think that searching for only his Ib will work this time however, so I need to find something..." He trailed off into a self-aimed mutter. The teen was pulled out of it when Marik came over, eying the multitude of cards with a raised brow.

"You have nightmare wheel," he asked with hidden curiosity. The trap card was clearly based on a torture device and something that he had in his own deck- he didn't expect for Atem to have them. "And 'Spell of Pain' too," he added with a nod. Bakura and Malik turned to look at the pair from where they were leaning into each other, the two raising an eyebrow each.

Bakura sat up, Malik moving away as the thief as well turned to Atem. "That reminds me, where did you get all of these..." He narrowed his eyes, watching as Atem pulled a few together into his hands before pocketing the rest.

"Well," he said with a nervous stare, "When I was pulled out of the fields, I was borrowing a grimoire from someone..." He swallowed, before laughing nervously. "Later, when I was in this body, I found that all of the spells had transferred into cards..."

The thief smirked. "Well well, to think that even the former pharaoh could be capable of theft. I'm almost 'proud'," he said with a grin. Marik as well had a similar expression, though that was likely more because of his attitude towards 'New Atem' than anything.

As it was, Atem stood up with a more serious expression. "If everyone's ready, I have something that should prevent us from being separated this time around... Though I'm not sure how we'll find Yugi..."

There was a scoff, and the group turned to Kaiba. "Just open the door already," he said with a sneer. "I have a fairly good idea as to where he'll be."

Atem stared a moment, before shrugging. "Alright then..." As he watched Bakura put a protective arm around Malik, he suppressed a laugh- Marik was currently rolling his eyes and pretending to puke behind them, though the protector's expression had grown livid when the duo moved in for a kiss. Holding his hand out to the wall, he let out a nervous breath. "SEN," he cried, the familiar tear in space appearing before he turned soul release on himself once more. As he prepared the next spell card, he turned to Kaiba, who was currently staring with slightly wider-than-the-norm eyes. Marik as well was staring, now that he had the time too, though his stare was more intrigued and possibly plotting than anything...

For a moment, Kaiba and Marik said nothing, the CEO blinking a few moments before turning his head as if to say 'Screw this, nothing really surprises me anymore.'. The protector however, grinned. "Pfftt... Oh... This is even better than the Mutt..." He was quickly thumped on the back of the head by Malik. "Tch! Hey!"

"Trust me," he said in a whisper, "If you're about to say what I think it is, wait until we're in the Shadow Realm." Malik was answered with a grumble, but an agreement to do as told nonetheless as Atem held the card towards the group.

"UNITY!" The card vanished, nothing apparently happening besides that. Atem stood off to the side of the portal, holding a hand out. "After you," he said, before waiting for everyone to go in. Bakura and Malik hoped in first, after first exchanging unseen glances. Almost immediately after this, Marik followed them, dropping the card right as he hoped through to avoid being seen. They were then followed by Joey, as well as Ryou, before Kaiba jumped in after the pair with an unreadable expression on his face. Finally left alone in the room, Atem gave one last look around before hopping in, the gate closing behind him to leave an empty room with messy dishes and scraps of food.

The rescue mission was officially underway.


	13. Playpen

The Shadow realm was as dark and unchanged as it always had been. Amongst the group, there were few changes really- Grim was still a sword, deciding that it was the best way to provide his charge protection for one, while Bakura's hair had poked up into 'ears' again, the thief's nails thickening into claws. At the moment however, most of the others were staring at Atem and Marik in mild amusement- currently, the former was trying so hard not to laugh at the now 12-times-smaller imp that it looked almost like he was going to cry.

And he probably was, but not from anything depressing. As the others held their tongue, Atem took that moment to look everyone over- Malik, Kaiba, and Ryou had of course summoned their cards. Makyura for Malik, Paladin of White Dragon for Kaiba as before, though Ryou had apparently decided to stand by previous decisions and had summoned 'Headless Knight' instead. It was a fairly interesting combo actually, as the armor itself was quite bulky, and not at all 'Ryou'-like in appearance. It was particularly interesting given that it seemed to abruptly cut off at the neck and replace itself with Ryou's head, the albino teen staring at Marik at the moment.

"Sooo," Malik finally said, breaking the silence as a majority of the group looked around in silence. "How do we find him?"

There was a thump sound, and the group turned to look at Kaiba as the CEO barely hid a flinch. "Trust me, I doubt that will be too difficult." He said this with a clearly annoyed tone, which as accompanied by a jingling bell behind him.

"Nyeh," Joey said as he raised an eyebrow, "There's nothing- ACK!" The dog jumped, twisting around to look at what had hit him. "Who did that!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes, though it was an action that remained unseen thanks to the helmet he was wearing. "Who do you think, Mutt?"

He growled. "Don't call me that!"

As Bakura and Malik both laughed rather loudly (Marik joining as well though for reasons unknown considerably quieter), there was a third thump sound, and Ryou scowled. "Ow!" The boy rubbed the back of his head, turning. "He specifically targeted that!"

The laughter grew in volume, before Malik found himself on the ground and rubbing his shin. "Ssssssssffffff... Whatever that thing is, it fucking hurts!"

For a moment, Bakura merely stared down at Malik, before grinning. "AHAHA- GODS DAMNIT!" He stumbled slightly as the 'invisible stick' smacked him on the arm. The thief looked around, snarling as his expression of mirth quickly vanished "Where is the little twit?"

"Interesting," Atem said as he stood off to the side. For some reason, he hadn't been hit once. (A fact that Marik seemed to be taking advantage of.) "Each time one of you has been hit I've only seen a bell for a split second..." As he muttered off to himself about illusions, he frowned. "Stop laughing at them or I'll toss you into the fray." Marik, scowling as he realized just how easy it would be for the bird to do that, fell silent rather quickly.

It was at this moment that Kaiba finally spotted Marik beneath the mass of feathers attached to Atem's wing, smirking. "Hmp," he said as he walked over, ignoring the shouts coming from the others as the 'Magician' was being attacked. "Yor form suits you, 'Marik'." Crossing his arms as the imp continued to scowl at him (baring his teeth more than a few times as well), he then turned to Atem. "Yours however," he began, "Resembles a giant turkey."

Atem huffed, feathers ruffling to add about three feet of size to him. "I am neither a chicken nor a turkey SO. KIND. LY. DROP IT!" As he began muttering off about mixing up food with falcons, Joey came up behind Kaiba.

"Eh..." The dog rubbed his head, before looking up at the teen. "I'd do as he says... It got pretty intense las' time this no one listened..." As Kaiba rolled his eyes, Joey turned to look up at Atem. "So... Any ideas yet?"

There was silence, before Marik flew across the room with (Presumably) the force of the bell that hit him. Spotting the shine of it, Atem struck out with a talon-ed foot, the 'invisible' magician quickly revealed as he shook his staff angrily. "Aha," he said, ignoring Marik's cursing as the imp struggled to regain his balance. Pulling him close to switch the boy to a steady grip in his arms, he smiled. "Now now... I just want to see who decided to use Marik as a baseball..." As the little one stopped struggling to focus his attention on a silent pout.

Atem took a seat, most of the others watching in silence as he moved to take off the boy's hat. He squirmed at first, frowning, but nonetheless complied. "Now then, let's see what's under-" For a moment, the bird thought, he wondered if Malik was right. If the teen had simply been clinging to a fruitless hope in a blind attempt to relieve nagging guilt. But as he removed the hat to see his pouting face in full, the bird drew back, freezing. "Dear Ra..."

A similar reaction was held below, though Marik was the first to speak. "What? How come he gets something like that?" He was quickly silenced by Malik, though the teen appeared to be a little shocked as well. As Bakura had said, the boy seemed to be made of shadows, or rather, he only had one ON him. His skin and hair color was flat, no highlights, no additional shade. But as they looked at the tri-coloured, gravity defying hair and wide innocent eyes, there was no doubt that this was a portion of Yugi's soul.

The silence continued, the magician's eyes moving as if to study the one who held him before breaking into a grin. Mouth open as a silent cheer came from it, he spread his arms to wrap them around Atem's body in an oddly strong hug. As the silence persisted, Atem moving to put the boy down, Malik turned to raise an eyebrow at his 'protector'. "You're oddly quiet..." He narrowed his eyes, frowning. "What are you planning..."

Marik scowled, crossing his arms with a huff. "Psh! Like I'm planning anything right now!"

Looking over at the pair, Joey grinned. "Hehehee... It's cause you know yah can't use your illusion cards ain't it!" While the glare he got from Marik (Not to mention the fact that Malik was now holding the imp in his arms to keep him from attacking) was more than enough to tell him he was right, Atem's voice quickly pulled him from those thoughts.

"He might not be able to use them here," the bird said, before crossing his arms. "But as soon as we leave the Shadow Realm, he will... So I would probably watch what I said."

"Nyeehhh..." As he fled to the other side of Kaiba in order to put the CEO between himself and Marik, the CEO merely rolled his eyes.

Ryou in the meantime, had moved to look at the 'magician', blinking as it stared back at him. "He looks... Almost exactly like him," he said hesitantly, the teen watching as the little one mimicked his expressions. "It's strange- his face seems younger, but he's at least a foot taller than he was before..."

At this, Joey poked his head around Kaiba, running over to compare height. "No way! He's taller than me!" He paled, shaking his head. "How the hell did that even happen!"

Walking behind him, Kaiba scoffed. "Get used to it Mutt," he said with a smirk. "Aside from the tomb keeper's 'pet', you're the shortest one here."

"Rgggggh... I oughta- Gah!" Joey was clipped on the back of his head by one of Atem's wings, the dog quickly falling silent as the rest of the group came over to examine 'Yugi'. Truth be told, none of them could really call the 'Ka' by that name- without most of the soul it simply... Wasn't him.

"Strange," Malik said as he watched the boy replace his hat. "So, how do we take him back?" The teen watched as the Magician waved up at Atem, apparently wanting the bird to lift him up again. He ended up sitting on the ground with a pout however, as Atem focused his attentions on the conversation rather than the boy.

The bird shook his head as he crossed his arms, his idea to use spell cards now shattered. "The thing is," he said with a frown, "We can't. This isn't a full soul, in fact, if I could hazard a guess..." He trailed off in thought, before continuing. "I would say that this is his Ka, and his 'Sheut', his Shadow. It would explain his actions... Besides the fact that his appearance is only loosely based off of Yugi's actual self, the entirety of a Shadow's existence is built off what has been discarded by the Ib and Ba." He moved his arms to his sides, turning to the others. "It effectively leaves the Shadow with the memories of early childhood, along with any of the more mischievous actions abandoned by the heart... Hence this little one's current behavior."

Kaiba frowned, staring at the boy for a moment before speaking. "And I don't suppose any of you has a clue on how to find those other pieces?"

As he said this, Atem frowned. "I was originally planning to use the 'Lead Compass', but now that we have a part of his soul right here, it would be completely useless..." He trailed off, before brightening. "However, the shadow always holds a connection of sorts to the main portion of the Ib and Ba- perhaps he could lead us with instinct."

While Bakura not-so-kindly told Kaiba to shut up when the CEO muttered about how hare-brained that sounded, Malik nodded, finally dropping his 'protector' to move closer to 'Yugi'. "Well," he said, "It's worth a shot." Leaning down slightly as the magician turned to him with wide eyes, he gave the boy a smile. "Hey," he began, "Want to show us where the rest of you is? Just to help us out?"

The magician blinked, before nodding enthusiastically and pointing his staff in a direction off to the side. "Well then," Ryou said as the others watched, a few with narrowed stares and others with mild curiosity, "Do you think you could lead us there?"

There was another nod, before he shook the bell on his staff and took off into a mostly silent 'parade march'. Joey grinned as the boy began moving, taking off behind him. "Alrigh'! Let's go," he shouted, Kaiba rolling his eyes as he followed behind.

For a brief moment, Ryou and the others hung back, Atem taking off to the skies to follow carefully above 'Yugi' while Marik simply did whatever. In the end however, they took off behind them, starting conversations with each other as they walked through the wasteland in a long line of sorts.

The walk lasted for a fairly long period of time. Regardless of the lack of time in the realm itself, it was plain to see, once Malik and Marik both began their 'whines' of 'Are we THERE yet', that this could take a long time. As they continued into the distance however, Atem quickly froze, the line freezing up behind him.

Kaiba barely prevented himself from bumping into the bird, rolling his eyes as he looked up at the bird in front of him with a glare. "What is so important 'Turkey'," he said as the others also voiced their annoyance about the sudden stop. "That you need to attempt to cause an complete collision in the middle of nowhere?"

The bird seemed to deem it more important to ignore the comment of being a 'turkey', instead moving to the side slightly to reveal a slowly approaching shadow. It resembled a dragon, long and almost skeletal in form, with a mane of multicolored spines sprouting from his head. Those who recognized the card instantly tensed, before Atem answered. "That," he said with a swallow, "Is why." He took a defensive stance as the dragon approached, before a ringing noise caught his attention. "What..?"

Walking up to the front to see what was going on, Ryou blinked as 'Yugi' waved his staff at the dragon excitedly. "Er... Atem?" Bakura and Malik walked up behind him, the former raising an eyebrow as he looked over at the dragon in the distance.

"Don't tell me this kid has a part of his soul in THAT thing," he muttered, before frowning. "...Hang on," he said. "That's the Beserk Dragon, I'd have expected something that temperamental to have made a sound by now.."

As he said this, a low and oddly familiar chuckle rang through the area, Ryou tensing. "Gh! Not this again!"

As the others turned to question the albino on this, Kaiba scowled. "The Berserk Dragon... For something with the name 'berserk' in it, I'd expect it to be growling more than laughing."

As the dragon came to land in front of them, Malik looked up at the beast and swallowed. "Oh great," he muttered, before the magician began waving his staff again. "How do I already know what this has..."

Atem stared, also looking up at the immense dragon and watching as it shrank slightly. "Interesting," he said as the dragon's effect of loosing power 'each move' came into play. "Yugi's Akh has latched onto a zombie type monster to live off of it..."

The dragon nodded, chuckling. "Perhaps," it said with a rumbling voice. "But isn't this interesting," he said with a laugh, "The one I sought has come to me... Hnhnhnhn!" The chuckling and voice, though considerably deeper than the 'jackal', made Ryou frown just slightly. This was all to familiar to his last experience here really...

"Hang on," Joey said as the bird beside him began to lift 'Yugi' up to the dragon. "That thing has a piece of Yug's soul? Since when did he talk like that!"

Bakura scoffed. "That's because it's his Akh, Mutt. Essentially what drives him to think." The thief smirked, watching as the small magician moved to place a hand on the dragon's head. "By the way, I don't know about you, but I plan on being as far from this thing as possible when the transfer is made, because in my experience the 'Berserk Dragon' tends to be just a little... Agitated when in the company of others."

From Kaiba's side, Joey merely tilted his head. "Nyehhh what..? Whadya mean, 'drives him tah think'..."

The CEO beside him sighed. "Do us all a favor Katsuya, and don't strain yourself trying to figure it out."

Before anyone could really respond to that (Though Marik made sure he was as far behind the group as possible, and Joey was fairly ticked with Kaiba as usual), they heard another rumbling chuckle from the dragon. "Ahahaha..." His tone abruptly became quite dark, menacing even, as a small glow appeared between it and the magician. "See you on the other side..." The flash ended, and Atem quickly regretted going about the most direct way to get the Akh back in 'Yugi's body. Particularly since he soon found himself flying back over the others, landing in a heap as the dragon shrunk again.

Joey shouted as the bird when flying, before drawing his sword with a growl. "NYAAAAH! You bastard!" As he leaped at the dragon, he briefly heard Kaiba cursing behind him as the others (Well, Bakura seemed to just give him a look of 'are you really that stupid') shouted after him.

"YOU MORON," Kaiba shouted over the snarls of the dragon, "He has more power over you! You'll destroy yourself before you land a scratch on him!" As Joey began to flail in mid air (Given that he was already on a collision course), the billionaire resisted the urge to face-palm. Instead, he pulled out one of the cards he'd brought in, Bakura raising an eyebrow when he spotted it. "Tch," he muttered as he held the card out, feeling fairly ridiculous as he did so. "I need to do everything myself it seems... LEVEL CHANGE!"

As the card vanished, Joey felt a strange rush of energy come over him. His body seemed to stretch slightly, body growing more to resemble a young, gawky teen at 12 than some tiny child. Even his eyes changed, the details of his body and clothes altering themselves to fit his size as the sword as well increased in power and length. There was a clash of claws and steel as the dog collided against the beast, being thrown back rather roughly as the dragon again shrank down in size. Even as he fell backwards however, the sword formed into Grim's usual 'dust cloud shape' with a grin. "No worries Kid," he shouted as he charged forwards, forming a strange and smoking boomerang. "I GOT THIS!" The shadow flew off around the dragon, slicing off one of the beast's wings before returning to Joey's side as a blade.

"GREAAAAAAAOOOOHHH!"

While the dragon writhed in pain and made to attack, Joey looked over himself with wide eyes. "Holy shit," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "I think I just shot up about a foot!" He turned to Kaiba, mouth hanging open with shock. "What the hell was that?"

He rolled his eyes, scoffing. "I used 'Level Change' moron; it means you gained three levels. Each of which you can thank me for tonight," he added with a smirk.

Joey blinked, swallowing as he laughed nervously. "Er... Thanks then?" The CEO rolled his eyes once more in response, before turning to look at the dragon with narrowed eyes. "Sheesh, how powerful is that thing," the dog beside him muttered, also following his gaze. "I thought it was supposed tah drop 500 attack each turn!

"Trust me, it's still less powerful than it was before Mutt."

Ryou blinked, turning to the boys as the group dodged another strike from the beast. "So how powerful does that make it now," he said as the beast shrunk again. "Given that we still don't have anything to counter it?"

As Joey shrugged, gaining a few inches due to his own 'effect', the teen was answered from above by Atem. "He's shrunk four times," he shouted as he dove in with 'Yugi' on his back. "That places him at 1500 now!" As he landed, the magician jumped off his back towards the dragon, grinning. "More than enough of a power gap for this little one!"

There was a loud, childish giggle, the boy throwing his staff forwards as the bell attached to it began to glow. "DARK MAGIC SHTRIKE!" As the attack was shouted out, a move done by any duel monster with a specific, spell related attack, the bell struck the dragon directly between the eyes. A small, spider-webbed crack began to appear where the bell it, the magician landing just as the lines and cracks made their way completely around the body. Abruptly, the beast dispersed into shadows, before the boy giggled and waved his staff in the air. "TA-DAAAH!"

The others fell silent, staring at the now apparently speaking boy before Joey finally grinned. "Aw-right!" He watched as the boy ran over to Atem, clambering up on the bird's back as he ignored the bird's protests. "He speaks!"

As the boy continued acting on the instincts of the 'Sheut' he held, he snuggled into Atem's feathers, the bird sighing. "Sank-you," the child was saying, a comical lisp making slightly difficult to tell what he was talking about. "Saaaaank-youuuuuu~"

"Aha... Not a problem," he said with a laugh, watching as Marik merely shook his head and turned his back on the scene. "Although I'm fairly certain that we're still missing at least half of you..."

He appeared to ignore him, instead snuggling closer. "You're soft, an' fwuffy, an' pwetty..."

"Err..." As a chorus of laughter erupted, Atem sighed. "Thank you?" At least, he told himself, Kaiba was still keeping silent, along with Ryou. He blinked however, narrowing his eyes as he watched the albino turn away to hide a smile. Kaiba, in the meantime, wasn't even bothering to hide the smirk on his face. He gave another sigh, before watching as the boy slid down his back to land on the ground again.

It might not 'really' be Yugi at the moment, he decided with a sad smile. But even with only half of the boy's soul, he still felt a bit successful in the rescue mission so far. "So," Bakura said, breaking the seemingly endless run of laughter. "Where too next, 'Magician'?"

To Bakura's slight surprise, the boy crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at him. "Nyehhhhh... 'M not a magician yet!" He blew a raspberry at the thief, easily flipping out of the way as a palm came his way in an attempt to grab him. "'M an apprenshish!"

The thief frowned, crossing his arms as the boy floated out of reach before Malik took over. "An apprentice," he said with a raised eyebrow, the childish actions of Yugi's partial soul beginning to confuse him considerably. "Like... An apprentice 'Dark Magician then," he asked.

He nodded, grinning. "Yea yea! Dark Apprenshish!" Ignoring the lisp, Malik turned to Bakura with a raised eyebrow, his partner merely shrugging.

"Probably the name of his Ka," he said as he watched the boy float around. "The Mutt's was called 'Canis Warrior, level 0' last I checked..." Bakura smirked, the 'level' apparently getting a sore reaction from the dog as he turned to glare at the thief.

Joey snarled, apparently rather defensive about the name. "It's lev'l 4 now!" As the bickering continued, Ryou turned to face the 'Dark Apprentice'.

"I don't suppose you could point us towards the next part of your soul before they kill each other, could you?" He laughed nervously as the banter went on, increasing in volume on Joey's part with each retort.

The magician grinned, moving past the others in a completely different direction than the one they'd been heading in so far with a grin. "Of coursh," he said, lisp making Ryou wince slightly. "Follow me!" He charged past Kaiba to get to the 'front', thumping him on the back of the legs with his staff. "Whooooops," he said with a grin, not appearing to mean it in anyway.

While Marik snickered at the sight of Kaiba nearly tripping, the CEO merely scowled. "Watch it, brat."

Walking beside him, Joey frowned. "Oi oi, watch who you're callin' a brat Kaiba!" He crossed his arms, turning to look up at the teen as the glare intensified. "That's half my best bud's soul over there!"

Kaiba merely scoffed, continuing to trudge forwards. "Does it look like I care, Mutt?"

As Atem shook his head at the bickering 'couple' in front of him, he watched the Dark Apprentice skip ahead, giggling as he began singing something.

"Seto and the doggy, sittin' in a tree~ K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He laughed as Joey, who was now about equal to the mage in height now, chased after him with a growl.

"Will you jus' drop that already!" While the others watched with mild amusement as the boy moved to trip the dog whenever he got close to him, Kaiba merely huffed and continued on his way.

Though it was, he admitted as the kid continued, fairly difficult to not attempt to smother him on the spot. "Firsht comes luv, then comsh marriage," he shouted with cheer, continuing on his way as the others began to jog to keep up, "Then comsh a baby in a baby carriagsh!"

At this moment, Marik grinned, scooting up to join the Dark Apprentice with an all to eager look on his face. "That's not all, that's not all," he sang as the boy quickly joined in, "The baby's drinkin' alcohol! AHAHAHA!" He swerved to dodge the angry swipe Joey made with his sword, cackling insanely as the chase continued.

"GET BACK HERE YAH NUT!" Kaiba rolled his eyes, mentally wondering what kind of brat Yugi had been growing up if what was currently talking represented his child hood. Idiots, he mentally told himself, he was surrounded by idiots, and he wouldn't be able to leave until those idiots finished what they'd come for.

Why the hell did he bother coming along? As they continued their trek, the CEO narrowed his eyes, a large shadow appearing in the distance. Lightening seemed to crackle around it, regardless of the lack of weather in the area, and from what could be seen it was a small village of sorts, all built on a floating stone.

It seemed to be built, he thought to himself with an unseen raised eyebrow, entirely in the style of old time Japan. In fact, he realized with wide eyes, as he looked at the center of the village itself from their distance. The shadow almost exactly matched a field spell card...

As though sensing the shock, Bakura smirked. "What's the matter, 'Seto'," the thief said with a laugh. "Never see a field spell in effect?" As the others turned to look at the village, Atem squinted, his own vision slightly better than the norm.

"Shadow... Village?" He raised an eyebrow, while the Dark Apprentice ahead of them began jumping around with shouts. "We're hereeee!~"

Ryou came up behind Atem, Malik following with Bakura as well. "What is that," the albino said quietly, eyes wide with disbelief.

Beside him, Bakura smirked. "That," he said, chuckling as Atem and the others merely shrugged in response and continued staring, "Is what happens when enough power is gathered to summon a field spell into the Shadow Realm."

They walked closer, Kaiba sneering as he noted how much of the village was clearly hanging dangerously off the edge of the rock. "Great," he muttered to himself, "Yet another chip in the laws of reality..."

"Ohhh lighten up," Bakura said, walking beside the billionaire with a smirk. "Consider it a well needed break from your workaholic schedule..." He paused, before adding, "And your brother."

The only answer was a 'tch', as they approached the outskirts, stepping onto the edge of the town and looking around curiously. Oddly enough, as a majority of them noticed, the duel monsters here were all completely different. In fact, Atem realized with a jolt, the only monsters he'd seen that had anything to do with the field spell that had likely been used to summon up the village was a basket wearing, puppet like swordsman chatting away with what appeared to be a fairy-type monster at the side of one of the buildings. 'Muzanichiha', he mentally told himself, 'From the Karakuri group'. There was also a mechanical spider somewhere down the road, but he didn't think that one counted.

The very same group that created this field spell, he told himself as rain poured down around the village. And given the nature of that same spell, he thought to himself with a wince, it would not be easy to find the next piece of Yugi's soul.

As Atem pondered these things, the group was intercepted by a beaver-like monster dressed in a simple happi coat with a headband. Now what was- He blinked, quickly recognizing the look in the monster's eyes. Right- This was Beaver Warrior then. Without the armor, he added mentally as the beaver stumbled forwards.

Bottle in hand, he took a swig from whatever was inside before grinning up at the group. "Ahahaaaaa," he said with a drunken laugh, Ryou jerking away from it as he reached forwards. "Visitors!" The beaver stumbled slightly, still grinning. "Welcome, welcome! Don't worry about fights here," he cheerily said with a drunken slur. "We don't have aaaanny fights here, not in this village!"

At that exact moment, there was a shout from a bar ahead of them; a lizard of sorts (likely lizard soldier, given the crest of spines he had) was tossed out, before stumbling up to adjust his haori and rub his bleeding jaw. "Damn goblins," he muttered, "Thinkin' they own th' place..."

Kaiba and the others gave the beaver a fairly unimpressed and skeptical look, before the duel monster in question chuckled drunkenly. "Well... Not much. Is only if you deserve it, honest...!"

As the beaver said this, Joey finally stumbled back into view, gasping for air. The 'Dark Apprentice' also stopped, looking back at the dog with a curious stare. "Al-Alright," he said as he stuck his sword in the ground, leaning against it. "You win... hah... Oh god... Cramp..." Kaiba rolled his eyes as the dog continued too take in deep breaths, not noticing as the Shadow Realms equivalent to a 'draw phase' came into play again.

The mage grinned, before looking up at the bar sign ahead of them. "Hn... Whash that say," he asked as he pointed to it. The group looked up at the sign, Atem blinking.

"That's..." He moved forwards, reading the sign that was carved, oddly enough, in both hieroglyphs and kanji. "It's the Ren!"

The others walked over, Kaiba looking up for a moment before turning to face the bar. "Hn... Something tells me we'll have to make a bargain for it 'turkey'," he said as yet another duel monster (This time a rather miffed looking kuriboh) was tossed out the window. Ignoring Atem's immediate huff at the term, he continued. "Unless you're prepared to take on an entire bar of 'things'," he added with a scoff. "Because something tells me that stealing their bar sign won't impress the locals."

Bakura pushed his way to the front, grinning. "Well then," he said as he gave Malik a suggestive look. "Who wants a drink?" He was quickly smacked on the shoulder for his efforts, while the dark apprentice continued tugging at Atem's feathers.

"Wha doesh it saaaaaaaay," he whined, Atem finally sighing as he caved to the little one's demands.

As he waved the others in, he turned to the boy with a sad smile. "It's your Ren, your name. However, telling you exactly what it says will likely cause it to disperse," he said with another sigh, "And I doubt that would end well." In fact, as though to support this thought, a majority of the duel monsters in the streets were currently eying them with a paranoid, and possibly threatening gaze.

While the mage opted to pout, Marik hoved up by the sign with a look of irritation. "Well then how DO we get it," he said impatiently, clearly wanting nothing more than to leave so he could use his illusion card again.

Kaiba scoffed, before following Bakura and Malik inside. "Isn't it obvious 'imp'," the teen said with a smirk. "We buy it from the owner." The smirk continued to remain in place as he moved in, glad to finally work on something that made some sort of sense. While Marik opted to stay outside, Ryou followed the others in as well. For a brief moment, he turned to look at Joey.

"Eh," the dog said with a shrug, watching as the Dark Apprentice ran past Ryou to join the others. "I'm gonna stay out here. Sides," he added with a smile. "I ain't good with the haggling thing."

From inside the bar, they heard Kaiba again. "You're not good with ANY sort of thing Katsuya..."

Before Joey could give a response, Atem hurriedly surrounded the dog in feathers to keep him quite. At Ryou's look, the bird shook his head. "Unfortunately, I'm a little too tall," he said with a laugh. Technically of course, he could simply pull his legs back to 'bird status', but the fact was he'd prefer not to... "I'll wait out here, and make sure that Joey doesn't get into much trouble."

The albino nodded, before walking back in to join the others. Currently, the Dark Apprentice was tugging on a goblin's shirt, said goblin turning with a raised eyebrow. "Whatdya want brat," he said rather loudly, before downing some of his drink. "Ye look a little short teh come in here kid!"

The boy pouted, before Ryou came up from behind him. "Excuse me sir," he said politely, "We were wondering if you could point us in the direction of the one who owns this place."

"Feh!" The goblin turned, waving his hand. "Like I know, now scra- AAACCCKK!" The bar turned, conversations freezing as a blade was held to the goblin's throat. Bakura raised an eyebrow as Kaiba stood on the other end of said blade, Malik also staring in confusion. He supposed it fiugred however, given that they hadn't seen him during gun-related negotiations.

He remembered all to well the welcome he'd gotten from Pegasus when Mokuba was kidnapped. "Now then," he said as the blade was pushed just against the goblin's skin, "I know that you're lying, goblin, so why don't we dry that again?"

As Ryou looked at the CEO incredulously, the dark apprentice took the moment to tug at Kaiba's leg. "Donnnn't! Don't do thaaaat!" He shook it off, focusiing on the goblin.

"Well," he said with a scowl. "I'm waiting."

A shaking finger pointed towards the side of the room, where the sound of footsteps could be heard. Kaiba lowered his sword slightly, before biting his tongue to keep from choking at the one who came down.

There was a deep, throaty chuckle as a cloud of smoke from a cigarette of sorts floated through the room, before the tall whiteskinned being walked forwards. Geta clacked along the ground as the others moved to the side, the elaborately dressed duel monster grinning. "Well well well," he said with a smile, the others trying and failing not to stare at the crossdressing creature. "Now what's all this about?" The duel monster, who was, despite the garb of fairly layered womens kimono clearly recognisable as the 'Ojama King', walked over to Kaiba with a hearty chuckle before taking another drag off the cigarette pipe he held. "If you wanted to see me that bad hun, all yah had to do was ask..."

Needless to say, Kaiba was sincerely glad that the only portion of his body visible under the armor at that moment was his mouth. Because quite honestly, his eyes were probably wider than the first time he'd dueled against Yugi. Nonetheless, he steeled himself to respond. "I have a question about the sign out front. I'm interested in buying it." The okama's grin quickly faded, and he took another drag from the cigarette.

"Oooooh, is that all now..." He looked around the room, "Well," he said, leaning down just a little too close to the CEO for his comfort. "If all yah want is th' sign, hows about you do a lil' somethin' for Oka..." He leaned in more, "Got that sugah?"

Bakura quickly stepped in between them, putting some space between the pair with a smirk. "Please Oka, I doubt he'll whore himself out to you, if that's what you're implying..." He chuckled darkly, before finding himself in a crushing man-hug from the duel monster.

"Ohh Bakura! You little thief, takin' him all to yourself!" While Kaiba watched with still unseen and wide eyes, Malik and Ryou both found themselves equally shocked into silence. "What's a boy like you doin' in a place like this~"

As the thief attempted to breath for a moment, he managed out a wheezing response. "Glad... You remember me... Oka... AHH..." He was released from the hold, silently choking as he regained his breath and composure. "As 'Seto' said, we're looking to buy the sign you have out front." He crossed his arms, continuing. "It belongs to a friend of ours you see, and we'd like it back..."

The ojama deflated slightly, frowning. "That old thing? Hunny, there are plenty of better signs..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Pu-haps it's best we take this upstairs," he said as he turned to the group. "But th' thing is hun, that sign out there is the only thing keepin' this place from fallin' off the deep end of the Shadow Realm!"

Kaiba scoffed, apparently regaining his voice with that statement. "It's a sign," he said with a scowl. "I'm sure it's not THAT important."

Oka shook his head, holding his ground. "Oh but honey, it IS that important. Just look at the energy radiatin' off the thing!"

At this point, Malik came over to join the conversation. "And that's why we need it," he said with a slight frown. "It means a lot to..." He paused, before continuing. "To our friend."

He frowned, taking a few drags from the cigarette before nodding. "Well..."

"How about we go to your office and get caught up," Bakura said with his usual dark smirk. "We have time after all... We can talk there."

There was a nod, albeit a somewhat tense one. "Alrigh' then. Follow me dears, and keep close..." They then headed upstairs, the bar soon returning to it's usual chatter as they disappeared into the office.

Monsters Used (Real and False), and corresponding stats.

-

Joey (Canis Warrior Lvl 0, Fan-Made) - Started at 1000, jumped to 2500(Level 3) during the battle against the Berserk Dragon, which at the time made them evenly matched. Has since hit level 5 at chapter's end. (3500 Attack and Defense) Gains a level each 'draw phase', which is essentially a few minutes after either a 'move' in battle or the end of one during this series.

Berserk Dragon (Official) - Began with 3500 Attack, which became 3000 at battle start. After throwing Atem away, this became 2500, making him evenly matched with Joey when the dog struck. This lowered to 2000, during which Joey's sword, 'Grim', cut a wing off, and finally left him with 1500 Attack points when finished off by 'The Dark Apprentice'.

'Dark Apprentice' AKA 'Half of Yugi's Soul (Will not be referred to as Yugi until the name is officially obtained.) (Fan-Made) - Spellcaster/Effect card, and has 2000Attack points and 1500 Defense. For each Dark type monster on the field or in the graveyard, this monster gains 300 Attack. As Berserk Dragon counts as one, Dark Apprentice had 2300 attack during the battle. (Note; as soon as a battle is over in the 'Shadow Realm', the attack returns to the original level)

Other Featured Duel Monsters: Beaver Warrior (Mentioned directly), Lizard Soldier (Thrown out of the bar), Kuriboh (Also thrown out of the bar), Goblin of Greed (The goblin that Kaiba threatens in the bar), and...

Oka (Ojama King, Official card) - Will be appearing more often.

As a note, 'battle' occurs in any form of physically active fight; the reason why Joey gains a level near the end for example, is because he's been chasing after the Dark Apprentice, which counts as a battle of sorts. Simply walking around a village however, does not, and anyone in the area that is not directly involved in the fight is not considered 'On the Field'. (So none of the dark type inhabitants of the village in the area did anything to Dark Apprentice's attack points.)


	14. Bargaining

The 'office' that Oka led them into upstairs was more of an odd lounge than a meeting place. Cushions sat across the floor, and as the group slowly took their own seats (Kaiba standing by the door), Oka moved to the end of the room. Collapsing into his own pile of cushions, the ojama took a drag from his cigarette before turning to the others with narrowed eyes. "Now then," he said with a drawl, tapping the end of his cigarette on an ash tray to the side. "As I was saying before dears, I can see how this would be so important to your friend..." His eyes, at least one of them anyways, looked at the Dark Apprentice a moment before turning their focus back to the group as a whole. "But the fact remains, there's too many good folk in this town; y'all ah gonna have to find me somethin with enough power to take its place before I can hand it over..."

Kaiba frowned as Oka said this, his arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame slightly. "An energy creating card then," he muttered with a scowl. They didn't have any cards like that, at least nothing that could support an entire field card. Maybe a few small 'heals' and 'level ups' to compliment the mostly shield and attack based deck, but nothing like that... What they needed was a battery...

"I still hold my offer, Oka," Bakura said, breaking the silence as he shifted his weight. "Perhaps we can figure something out, a compromise of sorts..."

The ojama held firm, shaking his head with a sad frown. "As I said sugar," the duel monster taking another drag from the cigarette. "No can do... There's too many good people here, an' I ain't lettin this place collapse on 'em." He sighed, adjusting his seat before continuing. "Now then... If anyone has an' idea, I'd be grateful..."

Malik and Ryou both sighed, while the others gained more thoughtful looks. Ignoring the look the Dark Magician had (Bored), Ryou blinked and turned to the CEO behind him. "Er... Kaiba?"

He scoffed. "What am I, a dictionary of solutions for you morons?" His frown persisted, and he continued into the conversation more seriously. "Had this been the real world, I could have simply bought you a giant battery. But something tells me that getting one here is going to be irritatingly difficult to do, even by normal standards."

As he said this, Malik leaned back into Bakura and looked over at Oka. "Er... You're 'Ojama King' right? You know any battery type monsters here?"

The ojama waved a hand chuckling. "Please, call me 'Oka' hun- short for 'Okama'." He smirked, eyes narrowing in mirth. "Y'all could say it's a nickname for my special friends. I just couldn't stand the speedos that th' other ojama were wearin'," he said, shaking his head and taking another drag off the cigarette. The others merely held back a shudder at the image of the ojama 'king' in a speedo. "Now then," he began, closing his eyes in thought. "Battery type... Now that I think about it, a small tribe of folk callin' themselves 'Batterymen' stopped by sometime last week..." Ignoring the fact that 'weeks' and 'months' didn't exist there, he continued. "They moved on fast though, so y'all won't find 'em here..."

Ryou butted in, bowing his head in apology before speaking. "Where would we find them, Oka-san?" While Bakura and Malik both snickered at the semblance to 'Okaa-san', the others watched as the ojama simply stood up to grab something from a nearby chest of drawers.

After a moment of digging, he pulled out what appeared to be an old, worn map. Rolling it out on the floor in front of the group, Kaiba raised an eyebrow. His thoughts were likely mimicked by a few others- for a realm of floating rocks and timeless space, there appeared to be a number of established places. In fact, he thought with a slight frown, a number of them appeared to be named after field cards themselves. "Here yah go hun," Oka said as he returned to his seat. "Last I heard, the Batterymen was headin' for th' Tower of Souls..." There was a pause, before his expression became grave. "Best watch yourselves there though... I hear Bazoo's been takin' residence in those parts.."

At the mention of Bazoo, Kaiba's thoughts on what card corresponded to 'the Tower of Souls' were cut short, the Dark Apprentice having suddenly decided to hide behind his cape. "Now what's your problem," he said with a scowl, Ryou giving the CEO a frown at his treatment to the boy. The boy merely whined, burying his face further into the cape. "Ugh..." Kaiba rolled his eyes. "If you're so scared just stay with this guy then..." Honestly, he had long since gotten tired of small children... And watching a Yugi look-alike act like one was not helping his nerves in any way at all.

"Ohhhh sugar," the ojama said with a sweet smile, coaxing the little duel monster out from behind the cape. "You don' have tah go if you don' wanna... Listen to you're brothah sweetie, an' stay here with Oka..."

This gained a deeper scowl. "We aren't related," the CEO said fairly quickly, Malik snorting.

"He acts enough like Mokuba that he mind as well be though!"

Before Kaiba could say anything more on that, (Though a muttered 'don't even compare the two' was heard) Bakura jumped in the conversation as well. "Please, the brat would last less than a minute alone with Oka..." He looked at the Ojama from the corner of his eye, smirking. "No offense meant of course."

The ojama huffed. "Really, y'all are assumin' I treat e'ryone alike... I'm quite good with kids I'll have y'all know..."

Ryou blinked. "Really," he said with a light look of disbelief. "I can't see you with children myself..." As Bakura laughed at the thought, Oka continued pouting.

"Really now, be that way then... Don' come runnin' tah me when Bazoo is on your tail though..." As Oka said this, the Dark Apprentice whimpered again, aiming to duck back behind Kaiba's cape again only to find that the CEO had moved.

Malik and Ryou looked over at the boy with a light frown, before they went to comfort him. "Hey," the albino said, watching as the Dark Apprentice nervously edged away from Malik's fairly lethal armor. "If you don't want to do, you don't have to..."

The boy fixed them with a determined frown, shaking his head. "N-Nuh-uh... M- not s...Shcared!"

The former tomb keeper shook his head at the statement, before Bakura decided to calm Oka down. "Don't worry Oka... He's just shy is all." He crossed his arms, smriking. "He'd probably stay here more than willingly if he didn't have such a large attachment to big brd out there." He chuckled, before said 'big bird's head poked through the window.

"Is everything alright," he said as the others turned to stare. "I thought I heard something."

There was a moment of silence, before Kaiba snorted. "Speak of the devil, the turkey is back." Atem's head abruptly fell from the window, before his voice sounded up through it. "I AM NOT A TURKEY!"

Bakura shook his head, the others already heading out as he turned to Oka. "We'll be back Oka... Take care in the meantime. Oh," he added, pausing as he headed out the door. "You should really get rid of the fool outside advertising a bar with no fights... It's very..." He paused, smirk growing. "Misleading, to say the least."

The ojama chuckled, waving them off. "Oh is that who it was?" The chuckling continued, and he shook his head. "An' here I thought he was jus' sore abou' gettin tha boot!" As Bakura laughed and headed downstairs with the others, the duel monster reached out to stop Kaiba. "Hold on sugar..."

He tensed, scowling as he slowly turned to face the ojama. "What. Is it," he said with a tone that clearly showed his distaste for for the grip Oka had on his arm. "And quickly."

Oka's expression was severe, far more so than it had been before. His tone lowered from its usual, almost playful manner of speech, and he narrowed his eyes. "Listen here boy," he said slowly, keeping his voice down to a whisper. "Ah saw your lil' smirk when ah mentioned Bazoo. Y'all probably are thinkin' he's jus' th' same lil' half-wit monkey yeh saw on the cahd... But listen well boy," the ojama said, leaning in far too close for Kaiba's comfort. "They say Bazoo's been makin' some deals wi' th' soul stealin' bone towah... An' I don' think anyone's gonna like th' result... 'Specially not wi' what th' ol baboon's been braggin' about as a' late." He let him go, Kaiba frozen for a few moments. "Yah know what ah'm talkin' about boy..?"

"No," he said with a snarl. "I don't know. So why don't you hurry up and clarify for me?"

The ojama merely whispered in response, causing the teen to pale. "Les' jus say... Tha' if yah thought he could get pow'ful wi' his limit ah three monstahs... You see what 'e does wi' moah..." He leaned back, Kaiba standing there with silent horror before he finally moved to head outside. He felt something... Cold in the pit of his stomach, like a nasty feeling he just couldn't shrug off...

As Kaiba exited the building, Marik's voice called out from above the bar sign. "And the Priest finally returns... Have some fun up there, Priest," he said with a grin.

He merely scowled, turning to Atem. "If I were you, I'd get a few defense cards ready, unless you plan on becoming fried chicken." The teen ignored the bird as he prepared to shout out an insult in response, before turning to face the main street of the city.

"Hey, Kaiba!" Joey ran after the teen, his outfit visibly 'altered' from what he had starting out at 'level 0'. "Yah notice anythin'... Different?" He was currently at the same height he was prior to becoming a duel monster; and he appeared to enjoy it considerably. As for the rest of his outfit... His initial tunic appeared to be forming some sort of coat almost similar to the ones that Kaiba wore, flaring out at the bottom to hide his tail. Everything else had simply become more... 'Sharp' as opposed to 'rounded off'.

Kaiba, however, merely snorted. "Besides the fact that your breath smells worse than a toilet," he said as he continued walking. "No."

The dog growled, clenching his fists. "NYYYEEEEEE- MP!"

A curtain of feathers were flung in Joey's mouth, and he sighed. "That's enough..."

Behind the three, Ryou merely shook his head, the others all laughing rather hysterically. "So... We're all following Kaiba I take it?"

Bakura shrugged, before walking down the road with the rest. "Given that he has the map-" He paused as Kaiba halfheartedly tossed said map to Joey, the dog having just escaped the feathers. "Follow the mutt."

Said mutt looked over the map, which Oka had marked before leaving it with them. "Sooo... What exactly are these 'battery' guys? And what th' heck is th' tower of souls!"

Behind him, Malik shuddered. "Don't know, but it sounds creepy to me..."

From ahead, Kaiba scoffed. "You were there when he mentioned the tower the first time, Tomb Keeper." He turned, narrowed eyes of course unseen under the helmet. "Granted, it doesn't surprise me that your tiny brain simply didn't catch it the first time around."

Malik scowled. "I was busy with the little one!" As he began muttering something in Egyptian, Bakura and Marik both burst into fits of laughter.

"Of course you were," the CEO said in response, a majority of the others grumbling about this happening all the time; seriously... Why now? WHY were they fighting about THIS?

As the others ignored the now whispering trio of tomb-robber, keeper, and guardian in the back, Ryou and Joey looked over the map with a frown. "Nyhhh... Where th' heck is the scale on this thing!"

The albino nodded in agreement to the question,crossing his arms with a frown. In the center of the map was their destination, the 'Tower of Souls'. At the southern-most edge was the place they'd just left, 'Karakuri Village'. Everywhere else on the map was labeled by names that also corresponded with field type spells or even monsters. There was, however, no way of telling the distance between each one.

"Well," he began, still frowning. "I would guess that if the Shadow Realm is endless that they're too close for inhabitants to bother with scale." He pointed at the direct line they could take from the village to the tower', continuing. "The rest is just space after all, so the fact that there is land is probably good enough for anyone traveling."

At that moment, Marik flew over to look at the map as well, before grinning. "Hehehe... That's an interesting coincidence there..."

Ryou frowned, looking at the imp. "What coincidence?" He honestly wished Marik would stop grinning like that... It reminded him of when Bakura was the 'jackal'. Except with a lot more teeth.

The grin grew, and he pointed at the center. "Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the 'Tower of Souls' is the 'Soul Absorbing Bone Tower'- it's always in effect, takin' cards outta play..." His eyes narrowed with mirth as he sent Joey a chilling stare. "Course, in this case, it's souls not cards... And I can bet that there's a pretty interesting reason why it's in the center of the realm..."

He paled, almost drawing back before remembering he was supposed to 'head' the party. "Hihhh... Y-Yep... That... Sounds a lil' too much teh be a coincidence..." As they began moving, quickly leaving the streets of Karakuri to hit the wastes of the Shadow Realm again, Atem gave the dog a reassuring look.

"It'll be fine, Joey," he began with a smile. "We're all still attached to bodies. The only exception is the little one," Atem continued as the Dark Apprentice in question looked up. "And as he is still soul 'fragments', he will be just as affected as we are. Which," he quickly added at both Ryou's and Joey's incredulous stares, "Is essentially not at all."

Marik nodded, grin vanishing. "Don't ask me how the hell those batterymen are handling it... But if this is a wasted trip, I'm getting the fuck out of here!"

As the imp grumbled about how he hadn't 'signed up for this bullshit', Joey gave a nervous frown. "H-Hey... I thought I was a duel monster..."

From ahead, Kaiba scoffed. "You must be more of a moron than I thought, Mutt." He turned for a few moments, before continuing. "You're attached to a CARD; something that, last I checked, is still considered a solid object."

While Atem nodded, seemingly ignoring the sting of the comment (Joey certainly wasn't), Malik scowled, having picked up enough speed to come up behind Kaiba now.

"Hey, Kaiba," he asked, the billionaire not even turning. He did however, stop briefly, the silent 'What?' rather evident. After another few seconds of silence, he continued. "Why the FUCK are you such a royal PRICK?"

Though no one could see the reaction, Kaiba raised an eyebrow in response. Did he seriously just ask him that? Really? As he turned to continue moving, he heard the mutt but in. "Sometimes, it's best not tah ask Malik..." Really... Better not to ask...

Malik merely snorted, pushing the dog to the side. "Fuck you 'Mutt', I asked him a question. Didn't I, KAIBA?" Still glaring, he ignored the 'screw you too pal!' that came from both Grim and Joey both as they walked off to the side.

"And I said," the CEO calmly responded, arms crossed as he walked, "That we should move, Tomb-keeper." Honestly... What kind of moronic question was 'why are you such a prick'... Pathetic.

His walking was cut off rather quickly, when Malik ran to catch up again. "Hey, ASSHOLE," he shouted, the noise making Kaiba turn slightly. "Answer this!" Unseen by the helmet, Kaiba's eyes widened as Malik's fist slammed into the bottom of his chin. The blades attached to his wrists barely struck the helmet covering his face, and as the others stood staring, the CEO stumbled back slightly to wipe a bit of blood from his chin; Malik had a few blades on his knuckles as well it seemed.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments, Malik seething as his target merely scoffed and resumed walking. "Is that all, tomb-keeper?" No answer, aside from a steady glare. "Good. Then lets move, before the magician wanna-be looses the other half of his soul..." He turned to send a look to the others, partially visible through the cracks in his helmet now. "Unless you missed that part as well."

Before Atem could attempt to change the subject to focus on that last point, Malik resumed the argument yet again. He held his head in his hands as they walked, groaning. For a brief moment, he looked down at Marik. "I don't suppose," he asked with a somewhat resigned voice, "That you know how to make them stop..."

The imp snorted. "Psh, the hell if I know!" As Atem groaned yet again, Marik turned to continue listening to the (somewhat) amusing argument going on ahead.

"Well," the former tomb-keeper was saying through gritted teeth and a sarcastic smirk. "At least I didn't just shrug him off when he was crying- I can't even imagine how much it must suck to be Mokuba, with an ass like you for a brother."

He froze. Silence filled the air yet again, Malik's smirk still on his face as the CEO stood there. It quickly vanished however, as Kaiba began to chuckle darkly. "You seem to have forgotten something, Tomb Keeper," the teen said as he hid a scowl, continuing. "When a 'Kaiba' sees that something needs to be done, he forgoes EVERYTHING, to make it so." His glare intensified, the small slivers visible through the helm drawing shivers from a few that saw it. "Because in the end, it means that instead of someone losing money, or say, their SOUL... They only suffered a little bit of discomfort, rather than facing potential DEATH."

As he finished this, Malik's frown softened, at a loss for words. Damn it... The words made sense, but all the same.. "Hnp!" Bakura snorted, coming up to drape an arm around Malik while continuing to hold the stare. "Maybe so, 'Seto', but you could stand to lose the attitude; because trust me when I say," the thief continued, tone growing dark. "Some here have had it far worse than you."

Kaiba continued walking, his attention turned back to the front. "As if I care about who has the worst life story," he said with a scoff, eyes turned on the growing image of the Tower of Souls in the distance. "Do you see me crying over my childhood, or something else as insignificant? I didn't think so."

"Well," Malik said, glaring from beside his partner. "Last I checked being a douche-bag was another way of hiding something like that."

By this point, Atem was looking at Joey as well to stop the argument. "Do you-"

The dog quickly shrugged. "Got me pal; I don't know anythin' more than th' fact that when things get this far, it's the best point tah cut out and be happy with what yah have."

"Lovely," the bird said as he resumed rubbing his head in agitation. Meanwhile at the front, Kaiba turned on Malik with a sneer.

The CEO's fists were clenching slightly, but he was somehow managing to keep a relatively cool head. "Is that so," he 'asked', venom dripping from his voice. "And here I thought it was violence. Running solves NOTHING tomb keeper," he said as he looked down at the Egyptian. "But I suppose it's completely pointless to tell you that, isn't it?"

Malik froze at those words, the others stopping as well. Surprisingly however, he said nothing. Kaiba turned to look at the teen from the corner of his eyes, narrowing them with slight suspicion. He'd expected an outburst. A shout, an expression of rage. Not this... Kicked puppy face he was getting.

He mentally groaned. He was getting soft if that affected him. Nonetheless, he muttered just above silence under his breath to the teen. "That comment," he said, Malik frowning slightly as the CEO continued. "...I take it back," he said before turning away. "Don't expect me to do it again," he continued, resuming his walk.

The teen merely stared at Kaiba's back, silent in shock. Did he just... Apologize... As the crowd resumed the trek to the tower, he found himself staring off into the distance. It wasn't long, before he found himself watching the 'fog' in the air with a nervous stare.

The tower was indeed made of bones, even from that distance they could tell. Skeletons of all sizes supported its weight, and as Malik watched the 'fog' swirl into the top, he felt a pit of ice land in his stomach. The tower of souls... "It really holds true to it's name," he muttered, gulping.

They were there.


	15. Notice

Hey everyone! So, we have an issues or two to tell you guys that are reading 'IBW' and are waiting for the next chapter. UsagiSquared (the writer) has made a decision to re-write this fic. There are many plot holes (both in the previous chapters and upcoming) and characterization issues that we need to fix and/or tweak a bit. I am going to leave up all the chapters that we have so far, but right now IBW has been put on TEMPERARY (and I can't stress that enough) hiatus. We will not be continuing from where we left off, but starting over again. Don't worry, we aren't changing everything. It's still the same plot, setting, characters and some dialogue, just written better. Thanks for your patience and all of your support! Don't stop reading and reviewing! (also, pass this story around, I'm a shameless self advertiser lol) Thanks! 


	16. Update

Update on IBW! Not much more of a wait! We finally have the re-write up and going! So there won't be much of a wait. For the re-write, we have changed a few minor things, but it's still the same plot/settings/characters/events! The first chapter will be posted int the next week, so keep an eye out! I'd like to thank all of you who have fav'd, comented, reviewed, and watched this fanfic! UsagiSquared and I have put lots of effort and time into it and we are glad everyone is enjoying it. We have had so much fun making/roleplaying it and even we are excited to find out what comes next. This fic will go a very long way and be multi-chaptered. And my multi I mean probably over 30 or so chapters. We'll even have to split it into different fics! We've been roleplaying it almost everyday and had got through YGODM, GX, and now we're approaching the Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds series! Once again, thanks for your support! 


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